Genesis
by Rhaella Valysar
Summary: Wonder how everything started between Julian and Anneliese? How they met, how they fell in love? A collection of one-shots telling the story of everything these two went through before Anneliese was forced to compromise with King Dominick. R&R
1. First Impression

**Genesis**

Chapter 1: First Impression

_*Please read the bottom-note before reading the story…you have been warned*_

_(This chapter is dedicated to Barbiegirl2435, for making me fall in love again with this beautiful couple that I knew when I was…8-9 years old. Bringing them back to life in my mind and heart has spun my world around. And by reading her amazing stories, my imagination has resurrected.)_

Queen Genevieve secretly watched her teenage daughter during her lessons with Professor Dixon. She was hiding in a corner of the giant room and covering herself beneath the curtains of one of the windows. Taking a constant glimpse of her daughter's actions during her class, which were not very positive.

Anneliese wasn't cruel or bad-mannered with him, is just that she didn't pay attention at all. She was failing at almost every test and quiz and didn't seemed eager to listen to he was saying.

The widow remembered the talk she had with the tutor days ago.

* * *

><p><em>Knock-knock…<em>

"_Come in" the woman said as she examined some books on her desk. The tall, thin man opened the door and walked closer to the queen. She looked at him and smiled._

"_Well, Hello Mr. Dixon." he bowed as a sign of respect towards the queen "Please, take a seat" she offered, but he took it as an order. He sat on the chair and remained quiet for a while. The queen raised her blue eyes, and fixed her spectacles to take a better look at him._

"_Can I help you with something?" she sweetly asked the bitter looking old man. He raised his furry eyebrows, revealing small light brown eyes._

"_Indeed, you can" his husky deep and British-accented voice replied "I quit" _

"_What?" she gasped "Why?" it almost sounded like complain coming from her._

_The man rolled his eyes, not at her of course but at the situation he was at._

"_May I explain myself, then?" the queen nodded_

"_I can't work with a student that is not willing to learn or to listen to **anything** I say." she gasped yet again_

"_Well, I have to object to that statement. My daughter **loves** to learn" she assured, he nodded_

"_I have quite noticed that, I have **caught** her reading science books during my lessons. She just doesn't seems to pay attention to what I have to teach." the wrinkled man explained, the queen didn't had anything in mind to say against that._

"_Well…" she started to think for a possible solution, he was one of the most professional tutors on the kingdom. He had given lessons to her late husband, until of course he became king. But the senior she was talking to was no ordinary person, and it wasn't costing her cheap to keep him working under this circumstances. _

"_With **all** of my respect, I **beg** you to stay another week. You and I were teenagers once, so we most know how bad and hard is to deal with life at that age. So** please**, Mr. Dixon. Accept my offer" he wasn't convinced by her words, and by his look she knew it. So she went to the detail anybody could resist._

"_I'll double your pay." his eyes widened, and he scratched his hairless head" But only if you give us a chance to try to make you stay" he stood up from the seat, the queen followed his face as he grew taller, all the 6 foot 9 inches of him. He extended his hand, and she shook it. She grinned with satisfaction._

"_Do we have a deal?" she finally asked, he leaned and kiss the top of her hand._

"_**Indeed** we have, your majesty"_

* * *

><p>And there she was, spying on her daughter to approve the teacher's statements. Anneliese would give him bored stares, she yawned constantly and she repeatedly opened her science book and read quietly as he literary talked alone. He was right on those things.<p>

But the blonde-headed woman also noticed that it wasn't all her daughter's fault.

He would speak very softly and low, he'd even yawn occasionally himself, he'd start talking about his life in some moments -even though nobody was paying attention to him, which it only led the queen to think he liked talking alone or that he had an imaginary friend- the old man also would take various breaks to sit and eat something during the lessons. When he was going to give an example with a plant, both of his arms trembled and so did his finger when he pointed at particular parts of it. He sometimes forgot the explanation of some themes. And the thing he did more constantly was softly and carefully clean his spectacles with a handkerchief, and nervously put them back in his face.

This man was not able anymore to keep up with his profession. '_Maybe he should retire'_, she thought.

But how was she going to tell him such thing?

The man himself thought he was in great health and shape. She was sure he was going to think that she was only defending her daughter, but in this situation Anneliese had a right to be… right. She was getting bored herself by just listening -or try to listen- to what he was reading. She quietly walked away from the room.

Her decision was made.

Strangely the next day Professor Dixon didn't came, which didn't bother the princess at _all_.

A fifteen-year old Anneliese was sitting in one of her desks, reading once again that intriguing science book.

What else could she do in this palace?

Bother the guards?…

Nah, they were to serious to have a friendship with. And they would always tell her to get in the castle again.

Bother the maids?…

Nah, they were always to busy to even talk to her, and they would instantly ask her if she needed something.

'_Hmm…well I really do need something…maybe a __**friend **__to talk and share with would be nice_!' That sarcastic thought was always playing itself in her mind. And she just kept thinking of what else could she do in this place instead of reading her science books.

Talk to her mother?…

Nah, she would always talk to her about the responsibilities she was going to have when she became queen or maybe telling her to eat more vegetables. But Anneliese knew the thing she would say right away when her mother talked to her: _'Darling, I want you to be happy. I know someday you'll find a handsome, nice and __**rich**__ gentleman that will protect you and your kingdom.'_

Talk to Preminger?…

**Never!** She felt like if he had really bad intentions when he eyed her. She usually felt _raped_ by his eyes, and Goosebumps would run down her spine when he smiled, or grinned. And he never really paid attention to anything she said.

Not even when she was a little girl. Before her father passed away he told her that if he wanted to feel really close to him, she had to sit at his throne. But she was so little and short she wasn't even able to climb up to her father's chair. She remembered as she went towards him, pulling on his purple jacket to get attention. 6She saw him as the only masculine figure after her dad, but he had more important things to do. Like carry that growling hideous puppy around.

He then would look at her with a superior look on his face. And before she could request anything, he patted her head and said with his weird voice:

"_Would you look at that? The little primogenitary girl of the late king, how pretty, how cute. Move along, sweetheart_" he would pinch her tiny freckled-nose between his knuckles, making it hurt and turn red.

So she decided to ignore him as well.

Talk to Professor Dixon?…

_Zzzzzz_…ups sorry! She went bored and sleepy by just thinking of it.

Not even a pet was allowed!

'_They are too furry and you can catch some skin-rashes' _her mother repeated the same reply to the same question.

Who else could she talk to in this place? With no siblings, no persons available, no people of her age, her restrain to meet new persons, and her 'captivity' in that boring castle… she flew far away from there with her books.

Anneliese didn't liked to think of herself as a selfish, narcissist, spoiled, antisocial princess. But with the attitudes of everyone around her, she felt like that.

Her mother walked closer to her, and poked her shoulder.

"Dear, can I speak with you for a minute?" Anneliese closed the book and stood up from the chair to follow her mother. Who started talking to her while they walked through the dark halls.

"Anneliese, darling. Why have you taken that attitude with your tutor?" the concerned queen asked the princess. She just wondered how did she knew.

"Mother, I have to say that I am_ very_ ashamed of myself for these actions." the younger blonde looked at the older one "But they are unfaltering and explainable"

"Then tell my dear, I should understand then" Anneliese bit her lip. How was she going to tell her mother that the man that was her dad's professor and now hers, was flat, bored and old?

"Tell me" the queen insisted, placing a hand in her daughter's shoulder.

"Then promise me you aren't going to feel… _offended_ for what I have to say" her mother nodded, Anneliese put her hand on top of her mothers.

"I promise"

Anneliese took a deep breath.

"It's just that I feel so _alone _surrounded by older people. Especially my tutor, who I spend most of the day with. It's… suffocating, it's unbearable, it's like being a porcelain _doll_ that anybody wants to break, wanting to keep her locked in a crystal box!" she said a little louder than usual, and she knew she wasn't supposed to behave that way. He mother giggled

"My sweetie, because they _know_ you are a precious being. They maybe don't talk to you because of the respect they have to reflect towards us" her mother didn't understand her.

So she cleared her throat and continued "I just want to have somebody to talk, that actually understands me… and having a sociable tutor is something vital for me, mother. I spent almost all my day studying and taking lessons, and with that drowsy man standing in front of me all day, it's impossible to learn anything"

Her mother didn't say anything, just fixed a strand of hairs that was out of place.

As they closer to the end of the last hall, which was more of a tunnel, the light grew more intense.

"I have already thought of that…" her mother assured, making Anneliese to turn her head towards her. And by looking confusedly at her mother for her last comment, she didn't watched her steps. She stopped her mother by standing in front of her. The soft and shinny marble floor that connected the hall to the garden finished with a cracked marble slab, and unfortunately Anneliese's heel met with it.

"What do you mean?" she asked, Genevieve smiled

"Your tutor quit, so I decided to hire a new one" a smile tugged at the corner's of the young princess' mouth. The queen was so pleased to see her daughter happy. Anneliese attempted to move her feet but her heel was stuck in the crack, she could feel her balance betray her but she was agile enough to regain her posture.

In that same moment, a black ball of frizzled hair passed besides Queen Genevieve, and started to loudly bark while he was running. Midas, hit Anneliese making her loose balance again. Only that this time she couldn't stop her falling, she could already feel the punch in her head when of when she was going to hit the ground, so she closed her eyes. But instead, she felt her body suddenly being embraced by two strong arms, breaking her fall.

She slowly opened her eyes, she saw nothing but whiteness. As her pupils adjusted to the increase of brightness in the ambience, the dark shape of who was holding her was starting to clear up.

"Midas! Come here to daddy" Preminger called his poodle _monster_-I mean dog.

The first thing she saw of him were his icy-pale-blue eyes, so their eyes connected instantly. She could feel butterflies playing in her stomach, then his face wasn't blurry anymore. He gracefully helped her stand completely in the ground, their eyes never detached from the other.

She couldn't help but smile, and neither could he. She just kept staring at his features, his long honey-colored hair, his dreamy yet sweet and sensitive smile… Without noticing he was admiring her too.

Her golden lengths of wavy hair, her deep blue eyes, her perfect creamy porcelain skin and the beautiful delicate thin hands he was holdi- **Wait! **She was the princess and before anyone noticed, he slowly released them trying not to blush.

"Anneliese, are you alright?" the queen called.

"Thank you" she said, he was about to respond when the queen got closer. He stepped back from the princess and bowed in front of the queen, took her hand and kissed it. And again trying to hide the burning sensation on his cheeks he bowed in front of the young princess, took again one of her hands and kissed it too.

As he regained his posture while picking up a book he had dropped during his 'rescue mission' for the princess. She instantly recognized the subject of the book.

"So, you like science books?" she was trying to start a conversation with the stranger, who chuckled at her comment.

"Indeed, I _do_. Actually, I'll be yo-" Queen Genevieve cut him off, unintentionally of course.

"Anneliese, I want to introduce you to your new tutor" her mother's eyes moved towards him, Anneliese didn't know if to get angry for liking him… in another way, or to jump of happiness. He bowed one again

"It's an honor to meet you, your highness" _she_ blushed this time.

"Well, well…" Preminger came in "I see the two…_youngsters_ have already established a bond."

The queen smiled "Indeed, Preminger, Indeed." she started walking towards the castle, she has decided to leave them alone so they could know each other better. Preminger pursued her, managing to whisper in her ear:

"_We must be careful, your majesty. Maybe if that bond gets stronger, they'll end up marrying each other one day_…" he laughed at his joke and so did she.

_(*Oh, the irony*)_

"So, you are going to be my tutor" she repeated with a shaky voice, he nodded.

"Oh, and thanks for catching me. It would had been very _embarrassing_ if you weren't there." they started to walk around the garden.

"It was nothing, but I guess I made a very wrong first impression, didn't I?" he asked her, a worried look in his face.

"No, no, no… actually I think my mother liked you even more." he chuckled

"And so did I" she assured "You didn't told me your name" he stopped walking

"I am Julian, Julian Mills." and holding his science book with one hand and taking her hand _again _to kiss it.

"At your service"

She smiled and they resumed their walk.

The garden was filled with different kinds of flowers, Julian wanted to show his wide knowledge on the thing he'd notice she was interested in, science. So he wondered through the thousands of flowers and found a particular one, standing with a gaudy pink alone in the crowded garden. He gently pulled the flower out, smelled it and turned towards her.

He offered her the flower, at first she seemed kind of shy to take it, but his eyes lured her.

"A perfect example of Rosa-" he started

"Centafolia" they finished in unison.

"My favorite" she finished as she smelled the flower.

They just knew this was going to be a _very_ pretty friendship.

**_Author's note:_**

_Hi! I'm kind of new here in the Barbie fanfiction world. So for those who are looking at the grammatical horrors, I don't live in a country where the English language is commonly used. I really do my best writing in this language so please don't be so harsh on me :D._

_Why I write in English instead of Spanish?_

_For those who asked this question in their minds -or out loud- In Puerto Rico is not common to find a fanfiction writer, or at least I've never met one. Even harder to find people who write in English, and I think almost impossible to find people that write Barbie fanfiction._

_So yeah, I feel pretty alone :(. Also since my mother and my sister are so…curious, and they look through my stuff, my documents etc… I prefer to write them in a language they don't understand. For example if you ask one of them what the word 'going' is, they won't respond ;D._

_This is my first Barbie as The Princess And The Pauper fic EVER! So please, I would love to see your comments and thoughts. Review, please!_

_And if somebody who is willing to help me with my grammar, please let me know. I will appreciate._

_Thanks for reading!_

**_shadowgirl416_**


	2. Snow

Genesis

Chapter 2: Snow

*I want to thank everyone who had read my fic and has encourage me to keep writing! :D It has been really helpful - especially you Barbiegirl2435!*

_(I forgot to say before that this fic will be a collection of one-shots. _

_Some will be very long -like this one- some will be shorter, and they'll be in random order. Example: in this one the characters have a certain age but in the next one they'll be younger or older. _

_I write these when they randomly pop in my mind so- here it is!)_

Anneliese was glued to the window of her room, staring at the little balls of fluffy whiteness that fell from the sky.

Oh! How she longed to be outside when it snowed!

Her mother had never allowed her to go outside while this beautiful phenomenon happened. Well, except only _once_, in her _21_ years of existence, only _once_ she had contact with snow. Being looked in her room and whipping the glass of the windows to enable the view was what she would always do.

The only time she went outside to see snow was when Mr. Dixon was still tutoring her. However, her mother had given her restrains: no _touching_ the snow, no _sitting_ in the snow and no _playing_ with the snow.

Why?

'_Because you are a princess, and princesses don't behave that way. Besides, it's only going to be an educational fieldtrip' _her mother clarified_._

Professor Dixon had promised to watch her, he explained to the queen he was going to give her lessons while they were outside -in his _many_ attempts to catch his student's attention- , but Anneliese _accidentally _slipped and bruised her arm.

At least that was the story that _he_ told - the truth was _he_ had slipped and Anneliese tried to catch him but he was too heavy and big for her to hold. Therefore, she fell along with him, hurting her arm in the process and he had begged her not to tell the queen.

She broke some rules of course, she _touched_ the snow -_with her face_-, she _sat_ on it -_actually lay completely on it_-, and she did _played_ with it -_trying to stand up with a hurt arm_-.

So her mother forbids her to go outside again while snow was on the ground.

When snow was falling, the servants would uncover the fireplace of her room. Since there was a cat, they preferred to have less messes to clean and use the fireplace only when was really needed. Her room would feel warm, but still she liked touching the glasses of her windows just to feel the cold on her hands.

She was snapped out of her dreaming cloud when somebody knocked at her door.

'_Knock-knock'_

"Come in" she called, the door opened and familiar steps walked towards her, but she was too entertained to look back.

Julian looked at her, at how she stared at the snowflakes falling down her window and how she would constantly wipe the vapor that caused the glass to get blurry; he knew she wanted to go out.

An idea popped in his mind.

"Princess?" he asked, trying to get her attention. She jumped a little when he talked; she was too involved in the dance of the little circles in the air.

She turned to him "Julian" she smiled "I'm sorry I was just looking at the snow" he chuckled

"I noticed"

"I already told you I don't like it when you call me '_Princess_', it's… too _formal_" she reminded him, walking towards her bed where Serafina was taking a nap.

He did not seem to have listened to her; he had a thoughtful expression on his face. The princess took Serafina in her arms, and walked closer to her tutor.

"So, what today's lesson will be about?" she asked, he looked at her.

"Wait here-" he responded, walking rapidly towards the door leaving the room. She was left with a confused look in her face, but then the white mystery outside caught her attention once again.

"Oh, just look at it Serafina. Wouldn't it be great to be outside?" the cat raised one of her eyebrows in sign of her dislike.

Her owner eyed the door to her balcony… and walking slowly in front of the knob the idea of feeling the cold wind against her face tempted her.

Anneliese looked back to the door to be sure no one was seeing her, and she slowly turned the knob of the door. The cold wind got in alright, but it did not just blew in her face, it blew _everywhere_. The pages of some of her open books passed themselves at an alarming rate, her eyes were almost closed, Serafina's ear bent completely back, and the cold air felt like if needles were flying and sticking in her skin. So she quickly closed the door back.

Just in time before someone knocked the door again, she released her cat and fixed her hair. And answering the door this time, she saw Julian with his hands on his back.

"So are we going to start the lessons already?" she asked, he smiled.

"I think there will be an _exception_ in today's lesson." she eyed him confusedly

"What do you mean?"

"May I escort you to see your mother?" he offered his arm; she raised an eyebrow and accepted his offer.

She couldn't believe it! Her mother had permitted her to go outside! How Julian did convinced her?

Of course she had to borrow some of her mother's clothes since she didn't't had any winter accessories. Nevertheless, she didn't't mind at all, the emotion was too big to bear.

Julian led her to the front door, he opened it and the cold wind hit her face again.

Julian again offered his arm to escort her, which she felt honored to hold again.

"Serafina" she called her white cat, which slowly kept track of her owner, walking for the first time in snow.

As she walked she enjoyed feeling how her fine leather boots sank a little into the snow-covered ground, it almost tickled her to feel the snowflakes softly crushing on her skin.

Thank God, she had the thick and warm cloak of her mother around her, along with the mittens she had also borrowed from her.

Once far away from the entrance of the palace, she was expecting that they would explore around the castle. However, she was more surprised and confused when Julian started walking towards the royal carriage.

He opened the door and helped her climb into it, feeling even more puzzled when she saw Preminger sitting besides his black poodle.

She sat in front of them, and smiled at Preminger.

Not because she was happy to see him, she did it as a sign of courtesy.

"Well, Hello your highness" he grinned and rapidly moved his head towards the window.

Julian got in with Serafina in his hands, closed the door and sat besides her. Midas started growling at Serafina, but Preminger shushed him. The carriage started moving, and she didn't know where she was going.

"Uh-" she slightly laughed "I know this a silly question but, where are we going?"

"We're going to the eastern forest, your highness" Preminger replied.

"Indeed, since we are in the nature subject. I thought it would be fun to go and see it for real instead of just reading about it in books" Julian added. She smiled, Serafina jumped on her lap to enjoy the view of the journey through the window.

It was beautiful; every single tree was covered in a white shade -_most_ of them leafless-. It looked like a dreamland; it almost hurt your eyes when you saw so much bright white together. It was colder than in the castle but the view was worth the sacrifice. And as soon as they got down of the carriage, her lesson started.

"As you can see your highness. This specific forest has a variety of trees, like-" he continued his class as they walked deeper into the forest.

Preminger walking a little further behind, he knew how boring Julian could get -or at least he thought so- and preferred to admire the beauty of the place with silence, his dog smelling everything in their way.

And so went the rest of the day, Julian and the princess walking in front and getting deeper and deeper into the forest without even knowing so. Preminger behind them growing tired with every minute that passed.

'_This inconsiderate pair of nitwits…' _the mentally stated, he was too beautiful to follow them around! He had better things to do than to keep an eye on them! He was not a babysitter; the princess was already an adult for pity's sake!

He knew that soon the sun was going down, and he had to go to the royal mine to see how much gold Nick and Nack were stealing.

So the white-haired man decided to approach them.

"-and those are only some of the animals that live here. As you can see there in that tree-," the teacher pointed with his index finger towards a tree, which had a squirrel looking for food.

"Isn't it supposed to be hibernating?" Anneliese asked

"It is, maybe it's just a little hungry and decided to wake up to grab a quick snack." she giggled.

She really was having a wonderful time; she was actually out of the castle, with her best friend and taking her favorite class while enjoying the view of a new gorgeous place. However, everything has its vicissitudes…

"Princess-" a weird bothering but familiar voice called from behind, Preminger.

"Mr. Mills…" the devious looking man eyed Julian "Have you already finished with today's lesson?" he wondered.

"I think we have-"

"Already?" her voice filled with an upset tone as her face winced. She didn't wanted this day to end.

Serafina purred as she quietly watched the squirrel on the tree.

_Get down, get down_… she mentally pleaded. Her dilated black pupils moving along with every single movement the rodent made, her tail moving from side to side with excitement.

The brown little mammal accidentally dropped the nut it was eating, and instinctively ran down of the tree to recover it. Serafina saw her chance, not to eat it but to capture it -cat instinct-.

Her claws revealed themselves as adrenaline built in her body, her body arched back to take impulse to jump.

But the squirrel grabbed the bitten nut, hid it in its mouth and ran before the white feline could reach.

Unfortunately, Serafina wasn't good at accepting a defeat and with a ferocious '_meow_!' she started chasing the squirrel.

Anneliese turned her head towards the place of the feline cry, and saw her cat chasing the squirrel.

"Serafina!" she cried, and without even thinking about it, she started running to follow her pet.

Julian's and Preminger's eyes bulged out, and looked at each other.

Both started running to get the princess back -Julian because he actually cared and Preminger because he didn't wanted to get fired.

But Midas started growling and barking as he ran along with them, his owner saw his chance to make the tutor do all the work.

The elder man stopped and pulled his dog back, grabbing his collar to stop him.

"You keep going-" he overly dramatic stated with a hand on his forehead, Julian looked back "My dog could hurt the little cat in his state, I'll wait here" even though he sounded like if he was lying, the blue eyed man looked at the dog. Midas was growling, showing almost all of his teeth. He really could hurt Serafina, or worse, the princess.

And nodding once he continued running, Preminger grinned and shushed his dog to stop growling.

Midas smelled the pants of his owner and raised a leg… Preminger felt something wet and warm on the fabric of his pants…

Serafina kept running faster and faster to catch the rodent, she felt very salvage at doing that… and she loved it.

Anneliese kept track of her precious pet by the little paw markings on the snow, and Julian by the footprints of the princess.

But the squirrel was clever, and decided to climb up in another tree. Serafina stopped, she could climb too but the squirrel started to jump from tree-to-tree clinging on the braches until the green-eyed cat couldn't spot it.

Seconds later, Anneliese found her cat.

"Serafina!" the young woman took the cat and embraced her with her arms.

"You can't scare me like that-" she hug the cat while gasping for air.

"_Meow_" managed to reply the squished feline,

Anneliese released her and started looking around.

Her happy expression morphed into a worrying one when she realized she was alone… in the middle of the forest…in the middle of _nowhere_.

Her eyebrows twisted to complete a scared look on her face.

Something moved… the crushing sound of something stepping on dry leaves was clear. Serafina looked scared too, both females knew it could be anyone.

A thief, a kidnapper, a killer…

Anneliese hadn't notice anyone running behind her -neither Julian nor Preminger- and who else was in this forest?

With no option but to defend herself at the appearance of danger, she spotted a big, thick and dead branch of a tree lying on the snow. It wasn't too big or heavy, it almost looked like her mother's scepter but a few inches shorter.

She kept quiet to hear if somebody was coming her way. She took off her hood to hear better, somebody was approaching.

Her heart started beating faster than ever, her face ran out of blood, her hands could barely hold the piece of wood and even when it was freezing she could feel her self sweating cold as the fear conquered her body. She held the long piece of wood upwards -like a bating position- and examined everything around her, it most have not been so difficult to spot something unusual with the fact that everything was white and almost no plants or trees had leaves.

But her nervousness was driving her crazy, her first time in a forest and she was alone!

Then her world stopped, a figure was getting closer behind her and Serafina was walking towards it!

Her stomach twisted into a knot, her heart almost stopped… a few milliseconds passed and she felt like an hour had taken her to respond.

And with her wooden scepter positioned and ready to launch, she didn't even looked back to assure the person's bad intentions... He was going to take her and Serafina.

She closed her eyes and launched to her behind…

A very familiar groan filled the air, her blue eyes flashed open.

"_Julian_" she gasped, releasing the piece of wood.

He was on the ground, with one of his hands on his face. He looked up to her with teary eyes, as he supported himself on one of the trees. She kneeled down to help him, still baffled for what she had done.

"Oh, God…I-I'm _so_ sorry, Julian" she apologized, he chuckled

"It's okay" he said with his hand almost covering his mouth, she felt even worse. How could he be okay?

"_What?_… _No_. It's **not** okay. I just _hit _you in the _face_ with a big old tree branch." the concern in her eyes made him feel… happy. "Let me see-" she aimed to remove his hand from his face, by the position of his hand she could tell it was his nose that was hurt.

"No, no. I'll take care of it" he dodge her attempt, she raised an eyebrow.

"How are you going to '_take care of it' _if you can't even look at yourself" she remarked, he didn't said anything. "Please, I want to check if it is okay" she insisted, he shook his head.

"Princess you didn't hit that hard, it doesn't hurt that much. Don't worry" he assured, but she shrugged at his response.

"But I want to see it" she almost begged but he shook his head again.

He was acting like little child!

She frowned at him; she knew he wasn't going to let her see it -

"I _command_ you to let me see it" she knew he never would disobey an order, and he didn't.

He looked at her with the eyes of a puppy that had just been punished. She leaned closer and slowly removed his hand.

His nose looked normal, but he had a little scratch on top of it and - she gasped, blood was coming out of his nostrils.

"_Yeah, I __**didn't**__ hit that hard_." she commented through clenched teeth.

"Told you it wasn't bad. I just didn't wanted you to see the blood." he slightly smiled, he was so thoughtful.

"Exactly, you're _bleeding_. Which means you _are_ hurt. Do you have a handkerchief?" He nodded and started looking in his pockets for it and aimed at cleaning himself.

_Why do men have to be proud? _She thought as she stole the piece of fabric from his hand.

She pushed his head a little backwards to have a better look at cleaning the red fluid.

"So, where's Preminger?" she asked, he was trying so hard to hold his laugh produced by the tickles of how gently she was cleaning him.

"Uh- he stayed back with his dog. It was growling and barking, maybe because of Serafina"

"Oh, Okay" she finished cleaning him; his nose was a little red by that was maybe because of the coldness of the place.

"Julian, I'm sorry" she apologized again, he laughed.

"It's okay. It was my fault; I should have let you know it was _me_ standing behind you. It won't happen again."

"I know but I should looked back before I launched at you… it's just that I was so…_never mind_" she was embarrassed to say she was scared.

He took a deep breath and stood up from the floor, offering his hand to help her get up.

"We should go back" Julian commented as he removed with his hand the snow on his black knee- length tunic. Anneliese took Serafina in her arms, and got closer to her tutor.

"Well, we can follow the footprints." she suggested, he nodded.

As they started to walk, the whistling of the wind was getting louder with along with its intensity.

They could barely see were they where walking, the wind was too strong to allow them to open their eyes completely.

And in a matter of minutes, the air around them turned white and the temperature notably decreased.

She was literary walking with her eyes closed, with one arm holding Serafina and with the other holding Julian's arm.

He stopped walking, and turned towards her.

"We need to hide" The wind was getting stronger.

"What?" she could barely hear him and she wasn't sure it was correct what he had told her.

"We need a place to hide" her eyes opened a little to look at him.

"What? _Why_?" she asked, sounding a little alarmed. He pulled up her hood to cover her head and offered his hand.

She got a little nervous with his offer… but _how could she refuse_? She tried to hide the smile that appeared on her face when she felt his hand touching hers.

She had touched his hands before, but he had never wrapped her hand with his.

And in a couple of minutes they were running through the forest while snow poured on them, holding hands, trying to find a safe place to hide from the horrible weather…

She couldn't resist the happiness coming from within her, she was holding _his_ hand!

Serafina was shivering in her arm, and so were them. For her it was like being floating and running on clouds of soft whiteness, but her hallucination was instantly interrupted by the pain in her face, hands and feet the coldness was causing.

Julian kept running, even when the cold air got into his lungs and was drying his throat he would feel her hand wrapped in his… that would spark adrenaline and made him more aroused to find a safe place for them.

For the first time in his life he felt like her protector, and he wasn't going to fail.

He hated this kind of weather - it reminded him of when he last saw his father

"Goodbye kiddo…Be a good boy and take of your mother for me" he said as he patted his little head. The little blue eyed boy stood in the doorframe as the older man walked away-

Oh! How he hated that memory!

It was getting harder to walk with all that snow on the ground. He could hear her gasps for air as she grew more tired. He knew she was having a hard time, but what could he do?

They kept running, looking on every corner for a safe place…

After a long exhausting search, not so far away from them was little cabin. They looked at each other with excitement and ran even faster towards it.

Julian started knocking at the door while Anneliese and Serafina looked for somebody wiping the windows.

Nobody responded.

"There's nobody in there…" she assured trembling with Serafina on her arms.

"Get back, princess. I'll knock the door down" she didn't wanted him to do that, this little house belong to someone. But they would probably die if they stayed out. So she nodded and took some steps backwards.

He pushed the door with his body several times, until it sprung open. She ran inside and he closed the door behind them.

It was very small, not even a quarter of her room. But it had all the necessary things; it had a little kitchen with cabinets, some chairs, a fireplace and a single small bed.

Julian instantly started looking for things in the cabinet.

"What are you looking for?" she asked as she got closer to him.

"I'll start the fire-" he replied. _'Start the fire? Are we staying in this place for a long time?' _she thought

"But, aren't we suppose to go back? Preminger's probably waiting for us out there"

"He probably is, but we can't go out with weather this dangerous. They'll notice something wrong and will send somebody to get us"

Preminger had run as fast as he could when the winds started to blow, with a handkerchief tied to his wet leg. He knew how this winter weather could get, but _silly_ him - he '_forgot'_ about Anneliese and Julian.

_Silly_ him, he remembered about them as he caught his breath in the carriage and told the man running it to keep going instead of asking questions.

Midas grinned at the thought of Serafina being left behind in the woods… how he hated that _spoiled_ cat!

It was winter, so the sunset occurred a little bit earlier.

When he arrived at the castle, he was literary biting his fingernails.

_How is the queen going to react? _He kept wandering, But she found him before he could invent a story that put him in the victim's position, the one that said -I didn't had anything to do with it-.

"Preminger?" she called from behind him, he bit his lip as the sound of her heels hitting the floor got closer.

"Your highness-" he managed to grin, she looked around confusedly.

"Where's Julian?" her eyes got bigger "Where's Anneliese?" her voice trembling, he nervously chuckled.

"You see, your majesty." he swallowed hard "We were in the forest, I kept my eyes _glued_ to them at all times. But the princess's cat started to runaway and she followed her-"

"You let my **daughter **run into the woods just to follow her _cat_?"

"Your majesty let me explain. Julian and I tried to follow her but…" he ran out of ideas, she was going to blame him for leaving them alone. He couldn't tell her the truth - that he stayed back because his dog was growling and then he decided to leave them behind because the weather was bad -

"But?" she insisted, he remembered the handkerchief tied to his leg.

Then it struck him-

He bent a little and grabbed his leg as if it was in pain continuing his story-

"A _wolf_, your highness." she gasped as she saw his leg being covered by a piece of fabric.

"A wolf attacked me - luckily my dog Midas was there and he scared the wild animal off, I told Julian to go get the princess…and I laid there as the cold hard winds _tortured_ me, with a wound on my leg. But it was getting dark and I saw no sign of them, so I decided to come here for help-"

The queen could feel the tears in her eyes; her daughter was alone with her tutor in a wolf-infested forest!

"Preminger! We need to send guards to find them immediately!" she sounded very worried, Preminger took her hand with his free one.

"Your majesty. With the weather, this can be a formidable task for your men-" she gasped as yanked her hand back.

"How can you say that? My daughter could be hurt! Send guards immediately to look for her!"

He nodded; he really didn't care about them.

Serafina purred as she felt her body covered with the warmness that emitted the fireplace. Her eyes slowly closing, her body begged her brain for some rest.

Anneliese watched the little snow-flakes falling outside; the horrible weather was still causing mayhem - though the snow had stopped falling in big quantities. The vapor coming from the hot chocolate in the mug she was holding was staining the glass of the small window.

The smell that filled the house was just irresistible.

Surprised at first when she discovered him _boiling_ something in a casserole- he knew how to make chocolate! And was using the things that didn't belong to them -and she felt almost badfor doing that.

He chuckled at her baffled reaction.

And it tasted better than it smelled, Anneliese sipped more chocolate as she turned back.

Julian was standing behind her, hiding his arms respectably behind him.

"What an awful weather" she commented.

"Indeed, I believe it will end by morning though." she took another sip of her mug.

A silent moment passed.

"You make really good chocolate"

"Thanks, my sister taught me to" he responded

"Oh! You have a sister! That's wonderful-" Anneliese said as she walked towards the pair of chairs on the corner. She smiled, giving him a cue to sit next to her.

"Where is she?" she asked.

He would have felt uncomfortable talking about his _family_ with somebody, but she was _family_.

"I don't know, she got married and moved with her husband to another town - _I think_"

She nodded and sighed.

"When I was younger I used to wish for a sister… or a _brother_" she commented, looking down at the empty mug.

"And why have you stopped wishing? Maybe someday your mother will re-marry and-"she slightly laughed and moved her big blue eyes towards his face.

"Because my wish already came true. Not exactly a _sister_ but… so _much more _than a brother" he smiled and tried to hide his reddish cheeks.

She took his hand with her free one.

"More than _anything_ I could imagine… a teacher, a confidant, a _best friend_…" she wasn't sure to say everything. To confess something that maybe he didn't felt back, to embarrass herself in front of the man she loved.

He smiled at her, took her hand and landed a kiss on top of it.

"Thanks" he replied.

Julian stood up from the chair and pointed one of his hands towards the little bed.

"I believe you should get some rest, your highness" she frowned

"I told you not to call me '_your highness'_. You are my best friend, why call me like everyone else does?"

"Because you are the _princess_ and I am the _tutor_…which means I have to show respect towards you" he explained, she grinned.

"_Exactly_. It's very disrespectful of _you_ not to call me by _my_ name - which it's not '_your highness'_" he smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Then…" he cleared his throat "I believe you should get some rest, _Anneliese_"

She smiled at him, then looked at the little bed and realized:

"And where are _you_ going to sleep?" she asked, concern filling her expression.

"I'll stay up… guarding you" his face had an expression that screamed 'obviously'.

She shook her head, put the empty mug on the floor and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"If you aren't going to sleep, neither am I" the princess pouted her lips in disagreement.

"But your hi-_Anneliese_, You need some rest" he instantly remarked, she shrugged.

"So do you"

He sighed with defeat, she was difficult to convince.

"And what do I have to do to convince you to get some sleep?" Julian questioned, he couldn't let her be up all night-he knew it wasn't healthy and maybe the queen would send someone for them and they would see her tired and say it was his fault.

She raised an eyebrow.

"_We'll_ sleep in the bed" he almost gasped.

"Wait - _What_? _Both_ of us?" he asked in disbelief as he shook his head, what if they saw them like that? They would accuse him of _other _things…

"_Yes_, we can sleep in opposite directions. I'll sleep up and you'll sleep down-"

"Princess is not about directions, we don't fit in that little bed-"

"Of _course_ we do!" she started walking towards the bed.

She placed a finger under her chin as she thought.

"We'll have to _squeeze_ to fit-"

"Anneliese, you can sleep perfectly fine and comfortable _alone_ in the bed"

"Julian is not about sleeping _alone_ or _with somebody_. I am not afraid of the dark. I just want to thank you in some way for _everything_ you have done for me today…"

Julian felt something inside him, something that struck when he heard those concerned words coming from her.

"- And letting you stay up all night - maybe falling asleep in a chair - is not a proper way to thank you"

He got closer to her.

"Anneliese, your mother probably already sent dozens of guards to find you. They'll find us, of that I am _sure. _What if they see _**me**_ -_the tutor_- sleeping in the same _bed_ with _**you**_ -_the princess_- ? I can sense it won't be _pretty _for me." the princess kept her eyes locked at him.

"_That's_ why you are worried? I can _say_ kill each other to them and they'll _do_ it. They do whatever I say, they believe whatever I say. Besides, they know how you are. You spend the whole day **alone **in my room with me-"

…..

They '_squeezed_' in the bed as she proposed, or _commanded_. Julian couldn't stay arguing with her, because he knew _she_ would _win _anyway. So he had to agree her request.

He didn't even dared to move a single muscle of his body; he was with her in a bed sleeping in the middle of nowhere. Some may had called him _stupid_ for losing this chance, but he loved her too much to lose his respect. He felt like the luckiest man in the world by just being able to hear her soft breaths while she slept.

Anneliese was very tired, she laid her head on top of her cloak -using it as a pillow- said 'Good Night' and in a matter of seconds she was on a trip in Dreamland.

Julian couldn't sleep though, he was afraid that if he moved a little he was going to wake her up, or maybe he might accidentally touch some _forbidden_ places or maybe that if he got to comfortable guards might catch him in the same bed with the princess.

But after an hour his eyelids started to feel heavy, and his body just gave in.

"Serafina!" she laughed

His eyes sprung open, his pale blue irises contracting as they configured their selves to the increasing light.

He instantly sat up, looking around for Anneliese - no sign of her or Serafina in the cabin.

He jumped off the bed and reached his pockets to look at his clock- 6:50 - in the morning he could say when he saw the morning sun through the windows. The weather had completely changed, though the ground was still covered by a blanket of snow.

Julian decided to go outside, maybe she was there.

He put on his tunic and opened the door; light snowflakes were still falling from the sky. Then he saw her, with Serafina in her arms - pointing at a snowflake that then the white feline tried to catch. She looked so graceful standing there, the snow only flattered her elegance and intensified her beauty.

Anneliese laughed, her dark blue eyes looking up and meeting his. Her smile increased and she cued him to join her, Serafina jumped down from her arms.

"Good Morning" she greeted him

"Good Morning" he bowed, she kept looking at the little white flakes that tickled her face.

Another quiet and peaceful moment passed.

"What _is_ snow?" she asked him.

"Snow is water vapor in the atmosphere that has frozen into ice crystals and falls to the ground in the form of flakes" he answered.

She knew the answer; she just loved how smart he was.

The blonde woman walked around and bent to pick some snow on her mitten clothed hands.

"I think snow is a game…" she commented, her tutor turned around to see her.

"A _game_?" he repeated

"Yes. Did you played with snow when you were a kid?" she asked him as she started making a snowball in her hands.

"I …_guess_ I did"

"You _guess_?" she raised an eyebrow as she chuckled

"I don't think _shoveling_ the snow off the sidewalks of the street to get some food can be considered _playing_-" her faced turned worried

"Oh, Julian. I didn't mean-" he smiled

"I know" he replied.

She kept the white ball on her hands, an idea popped in her mind.

"Well since neither of us has played with snow… why not do it …_now_?" she turned to her tutor and threw the snowball at him.

It exploded when it hit his chest, it took him by surprise and he stood, shell-shocked, for a minute, then a mischievous smile crept onto his own face.

"Are you _sure_ you want to have a snowball fight with me?" he asked, he wasn't sure why was she behaving this way - but he _liked_ it.

By the grin on her face he could tell she felt happy.

Then he took off towards her, scooping up snow as he ran. And threw the snowball at her that landed on her stomach. She slowly looked up, her jaw dropped.

He got scared, what if he _hurt_ her?

-Wait _hurt_ her with a _**snowball**_?

Anyways what if she saw it as a sign of disrespect-

Her grin came back.

"I am so going to get you for that!" she yelled, yes _yelled_.

She felt _free_, and _happy_ doing things she was never allowed to do _and_ with the person she loved the most.

No one to tell her what to do or correct her when she did something that a royal shouldn't do.

She threw countless snowballs at him, he responded her throws back. It was good feeling that you had a friend playing this '_childish'_ game with you. Her laugher tickled his stomach, he was happier to know he was making her feel good.

They kept the game of dodging the snowballs and throwing new ones at each other. Anneliese went a little far from him, hiding behind some snow covered bushes.

"Anneliese? Anneliese, where are you?" he called looking around for her. She kept giggling holding a snowball in her hands.

'_When he gets close enough, I'll take him by surprise_' she planned. And he was getting closer to her hiding place, until something started _growling_ behind her.

She carefully looked back and looking her straight in the eyes was a _big_, gray _wolf_.

It was showing almost all of his teeth, her jaw dropped. Her face felt cold, and again all the blood ran away from it.

Her breath slow and quiet, she wanted to scream but she wasn't sure she could.

So she slowly raised the snowball she had in her hand, and without thinking it splattered it into his yellow eyes - making the animal whine when the coldness entered his eyes.

As fast as she could she got out of there running, she took Serafina in her away and screamed at Julian as she got closer to him.

"Get inside, Julian! Fast!" he started running towards the cabin, the wolf was getting closer.

He saw it and ran even faster, he opened the door and she ran inside just when he closed the door to hear the nose of the wolf hitting the wood of it.

He stepped back so she could walk more comfortably, Serafina jumped out of her arms and the princess was going to pass by. Serafina tried to move quickly but her owner tripped trying not to step on her.

Anneliese fell, Serafina ran and Julian stood there as the blonde woman fell on top of him pulling them both to the floor.

She landed safely on top of him, both of them still heavily breathing - their eyes connecting.

And suddenly that's all they could hear in the cabin - both gasping for air.

"I'm sorry for tripping-" she apologized.

"No - no. Don't worry." he said, staring up at her.

She looked at him, his icy colored eyes staring back at her dark ones.

The scratch on his reddish nose she had done to him the day before when she hit him with the branch made him look almost…defenseless _and _cut_er_.

He looked up to her, her little nose reddish from the coldness of outside. Her dark blue eyes shinning along with her beauty.

"You have snow on your hair" he reached her head and started caressing it, aiming to clean the little flakes on her blonde hair.

"You too-" she smiled; he tucked her hair behind her ear.

He lowered his hands from her head and held her cheeks.

She started leaning closer…

She closed her eyes…

Their faces just inches apart…

He could feel her hot breath on his lips…

He closed his eyes…

She could feel his nose touching hers…

And for a moment they breathed the same air.

'_Knock, knock, knock'_

"Your highness, are you there?" somebody called from outside.

She started getting off him, but he managed to stand up before her. He gently helped her get on her feet.

She scratched her head and looked at him - who was doing the same.

Both of them with redness on their cheeks.

They just wished that this day had lasted a little longer and promised no to tell anyone about it.

_Author's note:_

_Again, forgive me for the spelling. _

_Also forgive me if I interpreted something wrong in the snow subject. It doesn't snow in Puerto Rico, and I've only seen real snow once. _

_Though where I live gets really cold on winter. The coldest place of Puerto Rico you could say :D._

_I also have been to Florida, New York and Canada so I know how you feel when it's very, very cold._

_I really hope you liked it, please let me know what you think of it :D_


	3. Jealousy

Genesis

Chapter 3: Jealousy

They were talking about the different types of flowers that surrounded the castle - what they usually did in their free time.

Well, at least _he _was talking; she was lost in his eyes.

Just when a guard interrupts their talk -

"Excuse me your highness, could I talk to Mr. Mills?" Anneliese nodded, Julian instantly looked at the man.

"Yes?" he replied, Anneliese looked at the guard standing in front of them and noticed a person standing in the entrance of the palace. The uniformed man continued-

"A young lady is here - requesting to see you, sir"

Anneliese felt a slight tension in her chest - a _young __**woman **_that wants to see Julian… _Nah_-

It could be **anyone **- maybe she came to bring him something or to tell him something…

Julian gave the guard a confused look.

"Looking for _me_?" no one had ever come to the palace to visit him before "Did she told you her name?" he asked.

The guard nodded "She said she was Ms. Juliet Anderson"

When the guard mentioned this name, Anneliese noticed something that changed in Julian's expression.

His eyes shined like they she had never seen before… She worried.

Anneliese could tell Julian's feelings for that woman the guard had mentioned were so much stronger than an ordinary friendship.

Her head throbbed.

A smile appeared on his face - a _very _happy and pleased one.

"Would you excuse me for a second, your highness?" Julian asked her, she did not know what to respond.

She wanted to say no, but that answer would have led to further questions from him… something she could not risk to happen.

The princess just nodded and tried to smile - but failed, holding the serious expression insecurity and denial had caused in her face.

Anneliese felt like if a rock had fallen on top of her when Julian started to walk away, guided by the guard towards the woman.

They were not too far from her, she could see them perfectly - but she would not be able to hear anything if they talked.

So many things were passing across her mind in that moment - Julian walking towards a _young _and _pretty _woman. A _free _female human that could marry him without any problems or restrictions - While she stood there motionless watching the man she loved…

Her heart wanted to stop and explode when he met with that 'Juliet' and stretched his arms to embrace the girl.

She could not think, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't talk, she couldn't blink, and she couldn't cry… her body frozen by the shock.

Denial speaking in her ears:

_Why do you feel this way? He doesn't feel the same way about you._

_Stop acting like if you cared about him because you don't._

_He has a right to have someone special._

_He is the most wonderful man on earth - of course he has admirers._

_You aren't enough for him, maybe he doesn't even like being around you._

_He only talks to you because he gets paid._

However, her heart was screaming the opposite:

_Do something about it! _

_You love him!_

_Another woman wants to take him away!_

_Confess everything and take your chances - what do you have to lose?_

_He spends every moment he can with you!_

_The way he looks at you is different and special…_

Her head starting to hurt, maybe because the light in her unblinking eyes or maybe for the confusion all of this was causing her.

She couldn't cry - she wanted to.

Anneliese felt her face again when she saw Julian returning towards her - her body becoming hot with anger when she saw him holding the hand of the young lady.

Both of them smiling as they got closer to her - and for the **first **time in her life Anneliese _wanted _to feel **superior **in front of someone.

She wanted to feel like if she was **better **than that woman was, she wanted her pride to swelling when Julian presented her as the princess.

For the _first_ time **ever**, Anneliese was proud and happy she was superior to that simple pauper _Juliet_.

Therefore, instead of a polite smile, the princess had a smirk on her face, lifting her chin in an arrogant way.

Julian's face was filled with emotion and happiness - a mixture the princess had never seen in him. In addition, felt envious of Juliet for making him feel that way she had never managed to.

They were holding hands like two _lovebirds_… something that made Anneliese's eyes burn.

Still - she held her just mentioned intentions and posture.

"Your majesty-" Julian started, Anneliese looked at him - chin up - eyeing him like if he was less than she was.

"I would like you to meet someone" he looked at the woman standing beside him - the woman who owned the hand he was holding.

The princess gazed at Juliet.

She was pretty, _beautiful _to be exact.

Her short curly brown-colored hair parted on the left, making her big pale blue eyes stand out. Her skin looking paler with that yellow dress she was wearing. She was wearing a smile in sign of amazement and respect on her mouth.

For the first time in her life, Anneliese wanted to think she was _prettier _than that woman was. Even when she **never **really believed that - she felt equal to everyone. However, when it was about Julian - her whole self would change - as if it was doing it then.

She felt somehow betrayed - Julian had picked that simple and ordinary woman over _her_.

_(*Again, she wanted to think she was better than her.*) _

This was the first time Anneliese felt jealousy in her heart - something she didn't liked at all.

A beautiful woman that **just **appeared in the castle was receiving more attention than Julian had ever given her-

Julian smiled, preparing to present the girl.

"Princess Anneliese, I'm _honored _to present-" he raised the woman's hand so she could bow in sign of respect.

The princess wondered how was he going to present her - as his… _friend_, _dear_, _girlfriend _or maybe his _**bride-to-be**_?

"-my _sister_, Juliet" he finished saying as the girl bowed.

Anneliese was wordless and motionless, she had gone through the hardest moments of her life filled with jealousy… and the woman she was starting to hate was his _sister_.

The light cleared the princess' clouded mind, taking back all her previous actions, wishes and attitudes.

She was back to old self, the kind, equal and nice princess. The heaviest weight in the world had been lifted off her.

She smiled back at Julian's sister, noticing how similar their eyes were.

"It's such an honor to meet you in person, your highness'' Juliet said as she bowed again.

"The honor is mine, Juliet" Anneliese replied, still trying to remove the shock from her body.

"It's a _privilege _to meet the woman Julian never stops writing about in his letter to me-" the blue-eyed woman said.

Julian felt his cheeks grew hot - colored with a deep shade of scarlet, Anneliese noticed.

_**Author' note:**_

_How many times something similar to this has happened? _

_You say or feel something horrible about an unknown person and it could end up being someone very important to a special person to you. _

_Always think before you talk - the fingers of experience warn you. Lol _

_This chapter was awful and at the same time fun to write. I had to remember real events to feel myself what I wanted Anneliese to feel - jealousy is something that I have tattooed to my system. Even if he talks to someone else - I won't take my eyes off him ;D_

_Therefore, this came up when I was writing Snow, only the part when she thinks Juliet is someone else, Julian presents her as her sister, and Anneliese is baffled. _

_It is shorter than the other two chapters I have written, but I mentioned that is how this fic will be. _

_I really hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review - I want to know how I am doing so far and what you think about the chapter. So please review!_


	4. Fever

_Hi! _

_Just wanted to remind you guys that if you find a character overreacting on a simple fever - remember they lived in the Middle Ages - Where even getting a tooth removed could kill you._

_They did not know almost anything about diseases or how to treat them - inspired by history lol._

_And, that these chapters are going to be short ;D. I'm working on S.U.R.V.I.V.E. and I'm on school -which really sucks :p- lol but anyway here it is:_

* * *

><p>The morning was just getting more awful as the sun came in and hit her face, making her headache stronger. She felt too weak to even call one of her servants and order them to make a remedy; she preferred to stay in bed. The blonde woman felt sweat drips running down her forehead, her lips becoming increasingly dry and her eyelids becoming heavier…she gave in.<p>

A couple of hours later-

The crowned woman was looking out of one of the windows of the hall, when she heard the voice of the man she had requested to see.

"You wanted to see me, your highness?" Julian asked, as he got closer to where the queen was standing.

"Oh, Julian" she turned towards him; her tone was more like a crying one.

He instantly knew something was wrong, her eyes reflected nothing more than uneasiness.

Genevieve's eyebrows twisted in a worried expression. The blonde man bowed to her, she walked closer to him.

"Yes, I wanted to speak with you. I-I think you should take the day off"

He gave the queen a confused look.

"What about the princess' lessons?" he asked, he had never taken a day off - he never wanted to.

"She won't be taking lessons until further notice" her tone a very grim one.

"May I ask why?" he replied, the queen's expression saddened.

The elder sighed and looked up to the man.

"I think you deserve to know… she woke up being feeling very ill-" she started but her voice broke by a muffled sob "It's only a fever - b-but the doctor said that if it doesn't go down it could be a sign of something worse" her voice reflecting nothing more than sadness and motherly concern.

Fever was something uncommon in their land and the queen could afford the best doctors around.

Why would she worry?

Besides the princess never left the castle territory, she could not had caught something _that _bad.

"Then you just have to keep an eye on her temperature, your majesty." he commented, she nodded.

A redheaded maid dressed in a green mint dress got closer to them; she bent her body bowing in front of the queen.

"Your majesty, the princess is requesting to see Mr. Mills" the house cleaner said, the queen looked confusedly at the servant.

He entered the room - alone, the queen was too worried and busy to enter with him and the princess had asked to see _him_.

He felt a little scared of walking closer, maybe the fever was giving her hallucinations and she babbled his name.

He had heard of some cases like that, the person was so affected by the fever that it saw things that were not there.

What if she didn't wanted to see him? Maybe that is why her mother did not wanted to enter with him - maybe she knew the princess was feeling so bad that she wanted to be alone.

"She's asleep, but I think she wouldn't mind if _you _go in" the same green-eyed maid said, standing beside him. He recoiled when she spoke; he really thought he was alone in the room with her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't saw you standing there" he replied.

"Oh, don't worry. I was on my way out - she rejected my help and said she wanted you to be here" she looked at him, he raised an eyebrow.

"Me?" he couldn't believe that the princess had requested his presence, the redhead nodded.

"No one really has come here to see her, the queen's to busy trying to find the best doctor to ask for a second opinion and she needs company. You two have a special bond, she told me she wanted you to come-" she smiled, Julian felt honored.

"Here" she said handing him a bowl of cool water and a towel "It maybe help with the fever and it might make her more comfortable. Doctor's orders, but she didn't wanted me to do it" she said as she opened the door and left him alone in the room - this time for real.

He stood there, thinking about it for some seconds - then her voice caught his attention.

"_Let me go. Get off me, please. Help, Help." _she was talking really low, but he still managed to hear her.

As he walked closer to her bed, he instantly saw her moving her head from side-to-side.

He could say she was having a nightmare, maybe caused by the fever. He also noticed that her normally high bed was lower; maybe they had taken one of the mattresses to make it easier to attend her.

Julian decided not to bother her, so he waited for a couple of minutes for her to wake up.

Her bloodshot eyes slowly opened, her cheeks flushed with red and sweat drips everywhere. At first she did not noticed him standing there, but slowly her eyes moved to meet his figure.

She stared at him.

It was not a confused look, or even happy, just somewhat blank. She had been lying in that bed for far too long and it even had not been a day.

Maids would come in and out and only would stare at her, maybe ask her if she wanted something.

Then one of her servants aimed to place a towel on her forehead, she dodge her attempt.

She didn't wanted a stranger taking care of her, even when she knew it was their job and responsibility.

It made her feel uncomfortable to have _someone _staring at you while they touched your face -

She could not remember when the last time she got that sick was, a long time ago she could recall - because she was not even able to remember it.

She wanted to see him, she needed someone to talk and feel comfortable with. To take her mind off the headache and her dizziness.

And there he was standing in front of her bed. Hi

"Your highness" he slightly bowed, trying not to spill the water on the bowl.

She tried to smile at him, but the blank expression on her face kept still.

Maybe she really didn't wanted him there - he thought.

She finally broke the silence.

"_Julian_… hello" she blinked several times, the face she longed to see was finally there. Her brain started to register the change in the routinely faces of the day.

She already felt a little better by just seeing him.

"Doctor says you have a fever. I thought…if you allow me I could…" he held up the bowl feebly to try to finish his statement.

She gave all her strength left to give him a little smile that instantly faded.

"Sure…" she replied.

He was very nervous, but he managed to sit on the chair already placed at her bedside.

He put the bowl on his lap, wet the towel and rang the excess water back into the bowl.

Julian gently placed the cloth on her sweating brow and watched her eyes closed as she sighed. She did not smiled but her face lost some on the tension it had.

"_Thank you_" she murmured after some minutes, he felt more calmed now.

"You're welcome, your highness" he replied as he put the clothe on her forehead again.

She slightly frowned and kept her eyes closed.

"Why so formal, Julian? It's just _me_-" she said, her voice sounding tired - like if it hurt her just to say some words.

"You are still the princess" he replied, she opened her dark blue eyes.

"And you are my best friend" she smiled as she looked at him.

"Thanks" he grinned, feeling a sudden happiness in his heart.

He went back to wet the towel in the cold water and placing it on her forehead, leaning closer and placing his free hand on the bed to support himself.

She closed her eyes again trying to relax as she felt the cooling sensation on her face. The princess was tired, but the uncomfortable sensations the fever was causing didn't allowed her to sleep.

"Julian?" she asked after a couple of minutes.

"Yes?" he replied

"Would you do something… _silly _for me?" she kept her eyes closed, and felt embarrassed to ask him.

"Anything you want" he assured, she took a deep breath.

"Will you sing to me?" his voice always made her feel comfortable and safe - he was soothing.

He felt his heart skipping a beat; he felt completely shy about singing in front of her.

Then again, he was willing to do anything to make her feel better.

"I-I don't know any song you like-" she interrupted him.

"Anything will do-" she slightly smiled.

"Alright…"

Then he started to think about a song that would make her relax and placing the freshly wet clothe on her forehead again he nervously started to sing:

_Alone she sleeps in the shirt of man_

_With my three wishes clutched in her hand_

_The first that she be spared the pain_

_That comes from a dark and laughing rain_

_When she finds love_

_May it always be true _

_Yes I beg for a second wish I made too…_

He noticed her breathing got shallow, light and calmed - She had fallen asleep.

A faint smile printed on her mouth.

He examined her face, her beautiful face.

Her red cheeks, her tiny nose and her dried lips… she was perfect.

He was going to leave her so she would rest more quietly. However, as he slowly pulled away - he felt his free hand being restrained by something very hot.

Her hand was wrapped in his; her feverish hand was holding his… he was happy.

_Author's note:_

_Hi!_

_**I do not own the song - or any of the characters.**_

_It's called Gaeta's Lament by Bear McCreary._

_I chose it mainly because **Alessandro Juliani **sings it. Yes, the same man that voices Julian talking and singing ;D._

_It doesn't have much to do with his feelings for her, the song it's about a lament Alessandro's character (Felix Gaeta on Battlestar Galactica) uses to soothe his lost - his amputated leg._

_I have the song on my MP4 and I usually use it to fall asleep, it's very calming and soft. Therefore, I figured it fitted perfectly with this shot since it sounds like if Julian was singing it to calm someone._

_If you look for it on you tube I think it will be better if you hear the 'soundtrack' version, since the version of the show is grim and… inharmonious._

_The character sings it, and he's sad lying on a bed with half of his leg gone - not very soothing._

_Hope you liked it, please review :D!_


	5. Cold

Genesis

Chapter 5: Cold

_*Requested by Barbiegirl2435*_

**_*(Before you start reading just wanted to clear that Frances and her mother are new characters that were supposed to be introduced in another chapter - that was suppose to be post before this one. But I really don't know how to finish it, it's very blurry and it makes no sense to me - I don't like how it came to be - it will be post when I'm done with it. So this was supposed to happen after it. I hope you enjoy it! And my apologies)*_**

Anneliese sat in front of the fireplace of the room, it was freezing that night. And she wasn't at her home, so the unfamiliar cold place was making her a bit homesick. It did snowed where she lived, but her room never got so cold like the one on this palace.

Her cousin Frances had invited her, it was her 18th birthday and her mother Josephine had thrown a huge ball in her honor. After the party her aunt ordered them to go to sleep - Genevieve couldn't assist to the event because she couldn't leave her kingdom alone so, she had sent a trustable man to escort Anneliese.

That Frances could be a huge headache, the princess still felt a bit mad at her for what she had said to her when she was helping her to get ready for the big event.

**(Flashback):**

"_So, are you looking for a beau tonight?" Anneliese asked as she finished brushing her cousin's short dirty blonde hair._

"_Well of course I am, dear. What kind of question is that?" Frances replied as she stuffed her corset's chest area with cotton balls - making her look more buxom. _

_Anneliese shrugged "Well… you are stuffing your chest with cotton balls. That could possibly mean that you __**secretly **__already have your eyes on someone special" Frances raised an eyebrow and smirked. _

"_Oh, darling. I am not the one keeping __**secrets **__in this room-"_

_Anneliese placed a hand on the side of her waist "I beg your pardon" Frances chuckled._

"_Forget it, forget it. I'll get you later, sweetie." she stood up from the chair and kept examining her corset on the mirror "- I'll find a __**husband **__tonight" she declared_

_Anneliese softly gasped "Wow, slow down there. I only said __**'someone special' **__Frances - not a husband" _

"_But Anneliese -" Frances smirked "I am already 18 years old"_

"_So? I'm 21 and I'm still single and pure" the blonde woman replied with an expression her mother used to repeat, trying to deliver the message to her younger companion. Who only rolled her green eyes and took a red lipstick from the drawer in front of her._

"_Well, I __**am **__single…" Frances pouted her lips to apply the red color on them "…but I think I would probably fail the pureness test" she smirked, the blue-eyed gasped._

"_Frances… you __**can't **__be serious." she hated to talk about those things with her, but she had to. Frances giggled as she applied more makeup on her face._

"_You see my problem now" she replied, Anneliese shook her head._

_It was completely an uncomfortable subject to talk, at least for Anneliese it was. She had promised she would only kiss a man when she was officially married with him - and that was only a simple kiss. _

_She just watched her younger cousin preparing herself, standing behind her just thinking. _

_A question crept onto her mind, a question she had always felt embarrassed to ask. A __**feminine **__question that her best friend couldn't answer, he was a __**man **__- and her tutor and she just couldn't ask __**him**__…_

"_Frances?" Anneliese broke the silence; the green-eyed looked at the reflection of her cousin in the mirror._

"_Yes?" she answered_

"_Can I ask you something…__**personal**__?" she felt completely timid talking about that._

"_Anything, Anneliese" she assured then chuckled_

_The princess took a deep breath, looking for a proper way to ask her cousin. "Promise me you won't tell anyone I ask you this-"_

_Frances nodded "My lips are sealed" she replied, walking closer to the blonde woman. "You are like my sister Anneliese; you can trust me with __**anything"**_

_Anneliese nodded and she decided to stop thinking about it "How was it?" she rapidly spat before she regretted it. Frances gave her a puzzled look, the princess sighed._

"_How does it feel… you know your first experience - your __**first kiss**__" she finished, Frances grinned._

"_Oh…How did __**that **__felt! Well, it felt-" she abruptly stopped speaking and glared at Anneliese "Did you just asked me how did my first __**kiss **__felt?" her voice filled with disbelief and a mocking tone. Anneliese's cheek went scarlet as she nodded; her cousin started laughing at her. _

_The blonde woman felt horrible, the other one was making fun of her just because she hadn't had her first kiss._

"_Stop it!" she demanded, Frances slowly stopped laughing with tears in her eyes._

"_I'm sorry, Anneliese." she took a deep breath to stop laughing, "It's just- well it's stupid and __**lame **__that you have never kissed a man" she chuckled. Anneliese crossed her arms on top of her chest as she turned away from her._

"_I should have never asked you anything" said she._

_Frances kept chuckling "No, no. Don't take it badly Anneliese. I'll…" a mischievous idea struck in her mind "-I'll __**help **__you" Frances finally said this caught the blue-eyed woman's attention._

"_Help me? Help me with what?" _

_Frances smirked, something devious splattered in her face "I'll help you find out __**yourself**__, how does it feel like" Anneliese raised an eyebrow in disapproval._

"_I won't date anyone at the ball-"_

"_No, no! You __**already **__brought a date, my darling"_

_"What?_…"

"_Don't act all silly and innocent with me! It's Christmas Eve and my birthday party, and __**you **__chose __**him **__to escort you here. That is a chance you can't afford to lose!" Frances made it sound so easy, but the princess was still confused or at least acting like it._

"_Frances I don't understand what you mean!"_

_Her dirty blonde headed cousin sighed, raising her head to relieve some stress._

"_Your mother is __**far **__away from you right now-" her words slow and clear so her blonde companion would understand "-__**you **__are here in __**my **__palace, __**I**__ will give you __**any **__room I chose and my mother __**has **__to agree with my decision-" Anneliese nodded trying to understand France's point of view, her expression changed once again into a mischievous one as she continued talking "-let's just say we ran out of rooms for our guests and that you and your tutor have to share one-" _

_Anneliese stood there motionless, share a room with Julian? _

_Again?_

_That time in the cabin was because they were forced to but- but Frances forcing them to share a room? Now that seemed outrageous. _

_Although, maybe they could continue what they left at half that day at the cabin- No! How could she do that? She was the princess, and he was her teacher - nothing more…_

_Anneliese shook her head "No" she replied "We-__**I **__can't"_

"_Why not?" Frances replied "You like him, and you can't deny that to me. Why don't you find out if he feels the same way about you?"_

"_Because he doesn't and that is final. Besides, do you know how mad Aunt Josephine would get if she finds out that I will share a room with my __**male **__tutor? Not good"_

_She started walking away from her._

_Frances nodded, still smirking "I suppose she would react that way, but- who said she has to know"_

_Anneliese stopped walking-_

And there she was, after the ball, she was completely exhausted. But that freezing weather didn't allowed her to sleep! She pulled the blanket tighter around her, trying to warm and _cover _herself. She was in her sleeping clothes and _he _was sleeping near by.

_Yes_.

Frances had forced her to share a room with Julian. He didn't seemed to happy about it, so that only confirmed her guess - he _didn't_ felt anything for her.

Anneliese sighed, moving her knees up to her chest keeping the red blanket around her. Then she admit it, it wasn't the coldness in the room that did not allowed her to sleep it was the conversation between her and Frances. Not to mention she had a wonderful time with Julian at the ball, even when her aunt kept throwing dirty looks at them every once in a while.

She had to admit it, she was in love.

Pure, real, crazy, mad and beautiful love…_with him_.

Her eyes fixed at the fire, watching how the yellow, orange and red flames danced with each other. Even _flames _get to make their own choices, why she couldn't?

"Anneliese?" she recoiled when she heard him calling her name, but felt a chill down her spine when he called her for her **real **name. "Why are you still up?" he asked, walking closer to where she was sitting. She blushed when she noticed he was in his pajamas too, and turned her look to the white furry carpet she was sitting on.

"I-I can't sleep" she replied, he sat besides her. Butterflies rioting inside her stomach, and chills conquering her body again.

He moved his knees up to his chest - just as she was sitting.

"Is it because of the cold? You can take my blankets-" she cut him off; she knew he wanted her to be as comfortable as possible.

"No, no. Thanks… it's not that" she sighed, he looked at her. She was staring at the fire again; her big blue eyes looked more stunning than ever with that yellow shinning on her face. Her golden hair loosened on her back without the usual big locks on it - only some golden waves that shone with the light that emitted the fire.

He broke the tense silence "Can I know what it is then?"

She chuckled, he kept staring at her "It's silly" she replied. He nodded, understanding she didn't want to talk about it.

And after a silent moment she broke the silence "Julian?" she asked, keeping her look on the fire.

"Yes" he answered

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can" he assured, smiling at her when she turned her head to look at him. She ventured and asked what was bugging her for some time - not being sure **he **was the correct person to ask.

"Do you think it's… _lame _if a person has never kissed someone?" he chuckled and shook his head.

"Of course I don't" he replied she gave him a slight smile "If fact… _I've _never kissed anyone," he confessed.

"Really?" she was quite surprised when he said that - he was an amazing and wonderful man!

"Yeah, I-I don't think it's that important - I'm saving it for someone special" his cheeks felt like if they were way to close to the fire in front of them.

"Me too" she replied, both looking at the flames for a moment. "Someone that really deserves it -" she added

"Someone that will appreciate it" he finished

Julian looked around the unfamiliar room; it was big but not as big as Anneliese's room. White and golden decorations everywhere he looked, then he found one of the biggest windows and saw small white balls falling down the sky.

"It's snowing again" he commented, she looked over the window and smiled. "I guess we'll have a white Christmas"

"Indeed" she replied, nodding. She felt much warmer now.

"I wonder why there aren't any Christmas decorations around here. Your mother, the queen, always fills the castle with them"

"She does" she replied smiling, even when she hated to admit it she missed her. Julian looked at the clock he always kept near by, just 5 minutes until Christmas.

"Well, I think this will be the first Christmas you spend out of the palace, right?" he asked

"Yeah" she answered

"Are you homesick?" he asked again, she wandered why he was being so curious. Maybe he was nervous sleeping in the same room as her too.

"I am…" she sighed slightly smiling.

"That means you're sad?" she looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not sad, I -" she placed her hand on top of his "-I have _you _by my side. Why would I be sad" Julian smiled, he took her hand and landed a kiss on top of it.

"Me too" he added, moving closer to her.

She felt his body against hers, a hot sensation running through her body.

"So what are you expecting something specific from St. Nicholas tomorrow?" she asked, he shook his head.

"Nah, I'm completely satisfied with everything I have right now. What else could I ask for?" he smiled at her. He was expecting something… but she couldn't know what it was "Are _you _expecting something, Anneliese?" Julian asked back.

"_Well_… you could say that I _am _but- what I want for can't be wrapped or put inside a box" an almost sad tone in her voice, she lowered her head.

"Why?"

"It's something that money can't buy" she answered, he nodded. Understanding she wanted something maybe far too expensive or something that involved a second person.

"So do you Aunt Josephine will allow me to go out on the snow tomorrow?" Anneliese asked, Julian chuckled.

"I don't know"

"Maybe she'll send you along with me. Just in case I go missing _again_" she mocked, making him laugh.

He recalled the event, he had to admit that he enjoyed. Just a week ago, he was her protector for a whole day, he made her chocolate, he slept in the same bed with her and he they had a snowball fight. Not to mention they almost kissed…

"Anneliese?" he called, she looked at him again "A-About that time in the cabin - you… haven't told your m-mother, have you?" he was completely nervous about that.

What if the queen knew it? She would fire him in a heartbeat! Although, losing his job wasn't the worrying part - never seeing her again was.

"What do you mean?" she asked, acting as she didn't remember.

"You know - when the wolf appeared and we ran inside the cabin. You fell on top of me and-" he felt too embarrassed to finish his statement.

She smirked, finishing the sentence for him "-we almost kissed" he nodded.

Julian tried to amend what they had done back then, just in case "I-I just wanted you to know that I'm completely _ashamed _of my actions back then-"

"I'm not" she cut him off, his jaw slightly dropped.

"But Anneliese-"

Suddenly something small hit her on top of her head - a small red ball.

Both blonde-haired people looked up and saw the **only **Christmas themed adorn in the room hanging above them - a mistletoe.

Their eyes met, their cheeks getting red at the same time.

"Funny isn't it?" she commented as she took the small circle that had fallen from the adorn.

"It is" he assured.

"A mistletoe…" she thought out loud.

_Frances _- she instantly knew whom to blame.

_'That little rascal_'

Anneliese knew that her cousin always wanted to make everything go her way, but this… this was…

This was… an opportunity.

Frances put the mistletoe there so they finally confessed everything they felt for each other. She would finally get her answer!

"Are you completely loyal to traditions, Julian?" she shyly asked, examining the red small ball on her hand. It took him some seconds to reply, feeling timid - he had the same ideas she had in that moment.

"Of course I am" he assured, she looked up to him and without words she made him understand what she meant.

When you find yourself under the mistletoe…

He got nervous "A-About the mistletoe-" she pressed her index finger on his lips as she shushed him.

"Nobody has to know…" she whispered with a low and comforting voice as her head got closer to him.

"But Anneliese…" he didn't have any reasons or excuses to not do it.

And even as he kept putting 'buts' in the way, their faces started leaning closer to each other, slowly approaching their goal.

And innocently their lips met, warm and soft.

Their eyes closed, they enjoyed the moment and wished it never ended.

Anneliese started to move her lips, but Julian was afraid to follow her cue. Therefore, she released the blanket off her to use her hands, placing them around his neck. Shivers running down his spine when he felt her soft delicate hands touching his neck in such manners. He still was stiff and afraid, so she moved closer to him.

She broke the kiss, looking sweetly at him "It's okay if you don't want to do it-" she whispered, he shook his head.

Julian raised his hands to her face and closed the distance between them, pressing his lips firmly against hers. His heart pounded furiously as he felt her kiss him back eagerly. All those feelings they had hide for all those years were being released at that moment. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeper and more passionately.

They both wanted this to happen for so long - it almost seemed unreal when it did. He started kissing her neck - making her start lying on her back on the white carpet on the floor. Her soft perfect skin felt heavenly on his lips, his hands caressing her back. She blushed when she remembered she was only on her pajamas - but she didn't mind at all.

She wanted to be his - completely. Julian could feel himself losing control and he loved it - although he was trying not to get too far. Even when his complete self wanted it.

No words were needed to communicate what they wanted from each other, their thoughtless actions were enough. Still he was very nervous about the consequences this could bring - then again they were alone in a room - and Anneliese hadn't made any gesture of discomfort. She had started this, and seemed to be enjoying it as much as he was.

Their lips meeting again, hotter than before and more eager to continue kissing the other. A heavenly moment that felt like a dream come true.

Julian could feel her slim body under his now, so small and delicate yet so hot and desiring. Trying to maintain his posture so he wouldn't make her uncomfortable, placing one of his hands on one of her cheeks.

Anneliese finally understood what it felt like to have another human being that close to her. She could feel his heart beating, assuring it was real, and his warmness against her body making her melt along with the bare thought of the scene they were making.

He kissed her deeper, trying to gain access to her mouth to move the kiss to another level. She was afraid she was doing something wrong, but she was enjoying it too much to start thinking about it - so she followed his cue and their tongues met.

The new tingling sensation they both felt sent trills and chills through their bodies, Anneliese hands were almost trembling as she placed them behind his head to push him closer. Julian felt almost surprised when she did that, thinking this was getting out of their control - but when the hotness of her lips reminded him of what was happening he just closed his eyes again and gave in into the temptation.

So many thoughts running through her head in that moment yet they all had the same message: love. She wanted to show him how much she loved him, she wanted him to know she didn't care about anything as long as she was with him and that she was willing to give him everything she had.

So Anneliese tried not to break the kiss as she slowly removed her hands and moved them lower towards Julian's chest - starting to unbutton his pajama.

Julian was enjoying the moment too much to feel the hands that gently were unfastening his buttons - but when he felt those same thin hands trying to remove his shirt his eyes snapped open and he broke the kiss.

And they stood motionless like that for a moment, Julian on top of Anneliese with his pajama shirt almost off and the woman's hands clutched on it. Her big blue eyes staring back at his pale blue ones as they panted.

Anneliese smiled, her lips slightly swollen and surrounded with a pinkish tone. He was getting back to earth right then, slowly realizing in what kind of situation he was at.

"I-I…" he broke the silence, Anneliese aimed to touch his face. "I should go-" he rapidly stood up from top of her and fixed the undone buttons of his clothing.

"Julian, wait-" she tried to stop him, standing up behind him.

He froze, she was standing behind him.

"Please, don't be mad at me-" she softly pleaded, he turned to face her. Looking softly and sweetly at her, walking closer and landing a firm and long kiss on top of her forehead as she winced in disappointment.

As he finished, he looked down at her "I wouldn't, how could I?" he replied, a corner of her mouth turned up.

He bowed "Good night, your -_ highness_" he started walking away with his head lowered.

Anneliese was left there disappointed and almost abandoned, had that really happened?

Maybe it was all a dream…

She wrapped her arms around herself; the coldness of the room came back.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's note:<em>**

_Hi!_

_Been a while since I last updated, been working on SURVIVE X) and on the new story as well. This chapter was suggested and requested by Barbiegirl2435 and it's completely dedicated to her lol. Frances is supposed to be Anneliese's cousin and Josephine is Anneliese's aunt. _

_The chapter that is missing well, it's taking time to inspire myself to fix it :/. I need a situation for the chapter and just cannot think about one XD._

_I hope you enjoyed it!_

_Please review! Really means a lot! :D_


	6. Hero

Genesis

Chapter 6: Hero

_*Requested by Barbiegirl2435*_

**_(*Takes place when Julian takes Anneliese for a day out into her kingdom as her last day of freedom*)_**

Anneliese closed her eyes as she sighed, "It feels so good to be outside the castle walls-" she turned to look at Julian, who was walking at her side and secretly looking at her.

He had been battling some feelings for a while now, and having her smiling and feeling happy at his side was the most wonderful thing that could had been happening to him. If she was happy, he was happy.

But he was just a teacher, she was royalty - and he could not let his feelings get in the way of her duties as a princess. So when she turned her head to look at him, he instantly pretended he wasn't looking at her while she talked. "-nobody knows who I am" she happily said, returning her gaze at the new faces of the villagers passing by. Julian taking the chance of getting just one more look at her.

"So, which one was your house?" she enthusiastically asked him. He didn't mind responding that question, but it would bring up the theme that was preventing him to confess his feelings for her. He wasn't a wealthy man.

"More of a room really-" he looked at her "-we couldn't afford a house" Anneliese's expression quickly transformed into a worried and apologetic one.

"Oh, I didn't mean -"

"I know" he gently cut her off; he knew she didn't meant _that_. Julian knew her better than her own mother did.

So he raised his arm to point at the building "Third floor on the left-" and starting to resume their walk he continues "-did all my studies there"

Next to that, they had a speechless walk, it was odd when Anneliese didn't said a word to him, and he knew she was just enjoying being outside of the castle for once.

And like that the spent some minutes, walking next to each other. Anneliese looking at everything around her, everything seemed to catch her attention. Julian smiled; he knew she was having a wonderful time.

'_If she's happy, I'm happy' _he kept repeating in his mind, trying to hush that other thought that reminded him she was promised to another man… a rich and powerful man.

Julian saw a flower stand near them; saw what he thought could his last opportunity to give her one more sign of what he really felt for her. Soon she would be married to King Dominick, who would surely take her away from her home and from him.

Slowing down their pace, he walked closer to the flower stand and picked out the most beautiful flower he saw, which he obviously knew it was her favorite. Julian took the pink rose and quickly sniffed it.

"A perfect example of Rosa Scentipholia" he said as he handed it to her, that made the smile on her face even wider.

"My favorite-" she started to speak, her expression turning a bit more flirtatious "-but, you knew that"

And like before, they continued their 'speechless' walk. Again, the young princess trying to get a look of everything on that new place; her tutor admiring how beautiful she looked.

Again, lamenting she could never be his.

Anneliese smelled the air, lightly lifting her head to enjoy the pleasant aroma. "Mmm, that smells delicious!" he looked at her as they stopped walking. Looking at the source of the good smell, they perceived the stand in front of them.

He wanted to gratify her in all the ways he could, so he decided to get her whatever they were selling there.

"I'll be right back-" She smiled at him as he walked away.

Anneliese had never been outside the castle or in the village with so many people. It felt like discovering a new world that had been there all the time and she hadn't been allowed to see it. So many new and weird faces, along with a way of dressing she had never seen before.

A sad expression splattered on her face as she watched how a family was forced to leave their home, the father finished hammering a long plank on front of the door before grabbing their things and walking away heading to leave the kingdom. And all she could do was just stand there and watch them walk away…

Raged, dirty and tattered clothes were the order of the day - watching all the persons in need made her feel a bit eager to marry King Dominick. But even when she knew it was the correct thing to do, her heart protested against these senseless morals. She loved another man, and she didn't care that she hadn't even met King Dominick - her heart belonged to Julian.

As she wandered around the place filled with by stalls of food, tools and other goods, Anneliese spotted a little boy hiding behind a barrel.

He couldn't be more than 5 years old, and by the way he was staring at the fruit booth near him, she could feel his hunger. His big green eyes focused on the pile of red apples, the nearest to where he was. She felt so bad for him; his clothing was dirty and worn out, his light blonde hair made a tangled mess and his face and hands as dirty as his clothes. Plus, it was clear that he was alone there and he was desperately hungry.

She could go there and give him a couple of coins to buy something to eat, maybe even take him to the kingdom's orphanage; where she would make sure he had all he needed. But, the little boy had other plans in mind.

Before she could even start walking towards him, the kid darted from behind the barrel; ran towards the booth and grabbed the first apple he could. The owners of the stall, a young man and an old woman, saw the child's action and instantly jumped from their seats. The old woman of course made a slow-motion movement to finally reach her cane to help her stand up, the young man turned red from the anger when he saw this and somehow jumped from behind the counter that contained the fruit and landed in front of the kid. The little boy recoiled and clutched the apple tighter with his tiny hands, the man was standing right in front of him and the frown on his face wasn't a nice sign.

He clenched his teeth at him, the kid's eyes only got wet and his lower lip started to tremble; the owner of the stall crouched down in front of him.

"Are you paying for that, kid?" he asked, the boy was honest so he shook his head. "Then if I were you, I would put that back were it belongs"

The little boy was barely five years old, still a defenseless baby, his mind couldn't understand in what kind of trouble he could be by just stealing an apple; he declined the man's suggestion. He was hungry, and he was going to eat that apple.

The owner was furious, times were hard with the kingdom's bankrupt; an apple these days couldn't be wasted.

He seemed to not to noticed that the thief was hardly a rational being yet. So he stood up, looking down at the kid. And without hesitation, he raised his arm in the air - charging the hit - aiming to strike the boy. A punishment he thought would be enough to make him understand that he **had **to return the stolen merchandise.

But before he could release the hit, the voice of a woman disrupted him.

"Hey!" she shouted, not being so far away from them and walking to close their distance.

He glared at her as she had just committed the greatest offense, interrupt him. And as mad as he was, he still gazed upon her from her head to her shoes.

"Leave that innocent little boy alone," she commanded, standing in front of him.

He chuckled "_Innocent_? He **stole **a unit of _my _merchandise." he replied.

"He's just a kid, and he's hungry-" she tried to explain, but he was excessively mad to listen.

"I don't care! He can be a fetus for all I care and if he doesn't pay for that-" he pointed at the boy with his middle finger every time he said 'he'. "-he'll be judged like what he truly is, a _thief_"

Anneliese was now worried; her people were so desperate that not even a child could be forgiven.

"He doesn't know what he's doing! Just look at him, he is a little child" she repeated, hoping that the man would understand.

He only took a deep breath and rolled his gray eyes at her, running a hand through his hair.

"Look lady, you are making me waste my time. This is _none _of your business, so stay out of it" he decided not to face her anymore, and turned his attention to the kid. This time he regained his last posture, raising his arm to hit the boy. Anneliese saw no chance to say she was willing to pay for the stolen fruit, and the first thing that occurred on her mind was to say:

"Run!"

In a flash, the little boy obeyed her and darted away from there. Leaving the man once again without revenge on the 'thief'.

He took a deep breath.

'_This little… ugh! If she hadn't come I would have done as I pleased with the little burglar!_' he thought, looking at her by now. She was slightly scared, and was still standing in front of him.

He walked closer to her "Look what you did-" the danger in his voice was clear to her, so she a step back from him. And without disconnecting his deathly glare from her eyes, he yelled: "Call the guards and the police ma', we have a runner," the statement was meant for his mother, the old woman behind the counter with the crane. But she was very old, so even when her son yelled she didn't understand him.

"What?" she asked looking around her confusedly, fixing her glasses and sitting down at the chair again.

Anneliese didn't noticed that the old woman was no harm; she was concentrated in saving the little boy. The owner of the place had seen him, and he could probably recognize him anywhere. And he was making this whole show for a simple apple. She had to be sure that he was going to be fine in the future.

"Don't call the guards on that little kid, **I'll** pay for what he stole" the princess offered, her voice timid and low.

The man's face reflected doubt for a moment, why would she want to pay to save a stranger from trouble?

Then, after examining the young woman's worried face, exploring down with his eyes to see her neck, to stop and rapidly stare at her chest before looking up again; he was willing to accept her offer, not caring what her reasons where.

So, he nodded, more calmed by then "Then pay up" he purred as he smirked.

Anneliese nervously nodded and looked down to look for the coins she had on her dress's pocket; once she got them, she aimed to hand him the coins.

He looked at her and crossed his arms on top of his chest, giving her a disappointed yet mocking look.

"Take them, I think this will be more than enough" she insisted, he chuckled as he shook his head.

"Just look at you… a young, beautiful and gorgeously framed girl who is eager to pay for a crime she didn't commit." Anneliese felt utterly confused by what he had just said.

"What are you t-talking about?" she asked, trying to make herself believe it was a joke from him.

He smirked, took her hand with the coins in it and pushed it back.

Then she understood what he meant, he didn't wanted the coins.

He leaned in to talk more directly to her "You really think I want _you _to pay me with money having something _far _more precious to offer?"

Her eyes bulged out, then she understood what he wanted. She had never been out of the castle before, and having this terrible first experience wouldn't leave a good memory.

This man wanted something more from her; she knew it, but instead she decided to act foolishly.

And looking for something else in her pocket and putting it with the coins she was already offering him, she opened her hand and showed him the golden ring she had.

"You want something more valuable and that is not money? Here, a ring"

He chuckled yet again "_And a good sense of humor_…" he muttered, his attitude morphed within a second. The man was very impatient, and he was not getting what he wanted from her. So he frowned and abruptly grasped her arm, pulling her very close to him. His face hard and angry and with teeth clenched, she was almost petrified by fear.

"Don't play stupid with me, I know you are mature enough to understand what I want" the princess knew this wouldn't end up nicely if she kept submitting to him, then she noticed Serafina that was still with her, so in order to release herself from his grasp she cued her to give him a little feline treatment.

The white cat jumped, and with her fiery little paws, she clawed one of his gluteus maximus - making him shout in pain and release the girl. Who instantly started running away from him with her cat, he was red from the tension he was suffering still he laughed at what this girl had just done.

"Ma', keep an eye on the fruit. I have a stubborn one… just the way I like 'em" he started to follow the young woman with the blue cape.

The old woman looked around her again, without any clue of what was happening "What?" she asked.

Anneliese was now extremely scared, this man wanted - vile things! She always thought there was no one as creepy as Preminger, but that was until that day.

She was gasping for air, running as fast as she could through the people on the way, her feet starting to hurt - wasn't easy running that fast with heals - still she kept going.

The man had caught up with her, the bright blue from her cape was too gaudy between all those dull browns, peaches, whites and creams colored clothes; making the girl easy to spot.

Serafina now was leading her mistress, as an animal she had survival instincts her owner didn't. They didn't know anyone in the town, so asking for help was not an option.

The cat lead her to a closed entrance, without any other choice, Anneliese followed her. Both females gasped when they noticed the wall marking the dead end of the place. With no bad intentions, Serafina had guided her master to a dark alley with no way out. Anneliese whimpered, desperately looking around for a way out; Serafina sadly meowed, making her understand that she was sorry.

"Don't worry, Serafina. We'll get out of this one-" by that, the princess meant that they could just walk out of there, hoping that the man wouldn't be waiting near there.

But it was too late; a mocking laugh coming from a man walking towards them confirmed there was no possible way out.

The man started to make fun of her, with a falsetto voice "Ha-ha, there's no way out, ha ha, this is an _isolated _alley" he then laughed, Anneliese was breathing heavily and her legs were now abruptly trembling.

Serafina suddenly disappeared from her owner's sight, and tears gathered in her eyes when she saw a white flash darting out of the alley. She left.

The man had a disturbing smirk on his face, Anneliese only walked back from him, but to her dismay, her back finally hit the wall of bricks finishing the alley.

The tears increased in her eyes, clouding her sight. But as she blinked them away, the man was now standing in front of her.

Anneliese decided to take a last shot, so she tried to run off, but a strong hand yanked her arm back, sending her to crash with the wall again.

The man grinned, grasping her arms with each of his hands to pin her down.

He had only one idea on his mind at that moment, conquer her. She was weeping by then, seeing that there was no way she could possible run off from this situation.

Fear or not, willing or not willing, he wasn't stopping just because she wasn't eager to please his desires.

Her hands trembling as she stood motionless, the only thing moving where her eyes when they blinked away the tears in them. Then the man released on of her arms, using his hand to softly brush off some strands of blonde hair from her face. After that, he placed a hand on top of her cheek; she only sucked in a sharp breath.

"Please-" she softly pleaded, he shushed her.

"I won't do anything to you that you won't like" he smirked again, she cried harder. "I promise"

And slowly, almost as if he wanted this moment to last forever, like tasting an expensive and rare candy, he landed a peck right on the side of her lips.

She made a brute movement with her body trying to break free but he only held her other arm down and started to kiss her neck.

The only man that had kissed her in those ways was Julian, that time under the mistletoe… but he wasn't even close to be him and she felt disgusted. Then realizing that that would be the same feeling she was going to get when she married King Dominick, as her husband he was going to demand the same things this man was, she wished to die. And all she could do when that happened was succumb to him, this time she was trying to break free.

But the man was holding her with all his force, his hands hardly wrapped around her arms.

After running out air to keep kissing her, he decided to pin her with his own body. She let out an upset moan, there's was no way out of there. The man's hips pressing against her own, she turned her face to stop facing him.

Truly aiming to get enough space to scream for some help, unfortunately the man heard when she gasped for air. He couldn't risk to be found like this, I mean with the girl _crying _, so he kept one of his hands holding one of her arms down and she felt his other hand hardly pressed against her mouth.

Tears running down her cheeks as she lamented the moment she started to wonder around town without anyone with her.

'_If I had stayed right where Julian left me, this wouldn't be happening!' _

Anneliese kept weeping, trying to make the man realize he was about to ruin her life. First, the kingdom goes bankrupt, then, her mother forces her to marry a man she has never ever seen, the love she felt for Julian and her dreams about them being together, shattered. And now, a strange man about to rape her.

How could her life get any worse?

Her head returned to its original position, the man didn't took his hand off her mouth. He leaned in again, their faces inches apart. She placed her free hand on the limb he was using to keep her quiet.

He shushed her again, trying to calm her down; in his mind what he was about to do wasn't bad.

"_Now_," he started, whispering at her. "-_I'm going to remove my hand-__**But**__, if you scream; I'll lose control_-" he was very serious at that moment, his expression changing as he finished with an almost happy tone "-_And_ _I'll have to break my promise, gorgeous_"

Anneliese knew she had to be strong, so she tried to stop the tears as she nodded.

If there was no way out of this, then at least waiting for it to be over and getting out alive would be a nice reward… at least.

The man smirked; and that disturbing grin stayed glued to her mind for a long time after that.

He slowly removed his hand, allowing her to breath more easily. Then gave her a stare full of lust, of evil … it made Preminger look nice when compared with him.

Anneliese didn't cried this time, at least when he was just staring at her. Because the man then moved his hands towards her shoulders, starting to pull down her dress's shoulder straps. The princess felt her world starting to crumble, and her eyes got filled with tears, again.

She decided to look away, muttering the word: '_Please_'. Still being unconscious that as much as she repeated that pleading he wasn't going to stop.

Surprisingly, she noticed the man did stopped. He was still holding her down, but he wasn't moving his hands at all.

Anneliese looked at him, he was concentrated at one of her shoulders; staring at her birthmark. She instantly felt more composed, maybe he had realized that he was messing with royalty, which meant that he could be in more trouble than he already was. And that the consequences wouldn't be nice.

He scrunched his eyes a little, trying to have a better look at the mark on the woman's shoulder.

Indeed, he knew he had seen this girl somewhere before; she was the princess. She had the same crown-shaped birthmark he had heard everyone say the Queen's daughter had.

He slowly looked up to face her again.

"Your-" as he finished the phrase, an evil smirk replaced the serious expression he had moments ago "-highness… It's an honor"

Anneliese bit her lip, he really didn't care about anything and was not stopping for any reason.

"Y-You realize what could happen to you if you continue with this, do you?" she asked, expecting him to understand.

The man only chuckled "Of course I do, but still I don't care." He was even more disposed to do what he wanted with her, she was a princess! This was an opportunity he knew he would never have again! "When I'm done with you, I'll go faraway from here. Business sucks in this place anyway-" He smirked, and moved his head closer to her face; their noses inches apart. And as much as Anneliese wanted to avoid his breath on her lips, the wall behind her was making it impossible. His gray eyes piercing into hers, she could almost feel the coldness and sinisterness his soul reflected in them.

Anneliese tried to convince him, maybe she could scare him off.

"I-If you… If you do this, m-my mother won't have mercy on you-" she took a fast but deep breath, trying to calm down so her voice wouldn't tremble. She wanted him to understand she was being very serious "-she'll send hundreds of guards to find you and-" the man cut her off.

Again, he didn't care.

His mother was old anyway, he would find another place to live. This place was not in a good economic state, his mother needed medicines so he wouldn't mind leaving also he was going to take with him a glorious memory of when he shared a _special _moment with a princess. "It's gonna be hard for those guards of yours to find me…" he leaned, aiming to resume 'their' _make out _session.

"Yeah-" a male voice interrupted, it wasn't him or her.

It was someone behind the man, Anneliese couldn't see who it was since he was blocking her view. The thing that the young woman noticed was that her cat had returned, she could see a white little furry shape not so far away from them. Serafina came back!

The man holding her down turned his head to look behind him, meeting the icy glare of the other man.

"-too bad **I **did" he finished, making the man holding Anneliese chuckle.

The princess let out gasp, she instantly recognized the voice of the man - it was Julian! A bit of tension lifted off her, still she knew she wasn't completely out of this situation.

He rolled his eyes "And who do you think you are?" not allowing the woman to move yet, he started to say. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

Julian had both of his fists clenched at both sides of his body, he was so angry he was almost gritting his teeth. That was Anneliese being touched by another man, Anneliese! The love of his life, the person he most loved in the world! And she needed him more than ever!

That man had her trapped, and judging by the tears on her face; he **did **meant harm.

"Let her go" were the only words he could speak without freaking out. But the man only smirked, not getting his hands off her.

"Or you'll do what?" the defiant tone he was using only made things worse. Julian knew this wasn't going to be pretty.

So just taking a deep breath, he tried to make this the good way. "I said, let her go"

The man holding Anneliese just ignored him, and kept staring at him. "And I asked, what would happen to me if I don't let her go?"

Julian frowned, and started to walk towards the man.

His pace slow but strong and decided. Then, when he was close enough to him he responded his question: "I'll make you release her"

The man took it drolly and started laughing at Julian, who just couldn't get any angrier.

Anneliese just stood quiet and still, she had nothing to say between these two. She was in Julian's side of course but she wasn't taking the risk of getting him hurt.

"And why would you want to save her? Is she your girlfriend?" there was a mocking message clear in his words "She prefers me, I bet" he looked at Anneliese, who frowned and struggled to break free only to be pushed against the wall again.

Julian's eyes met Anneliese's for an instance, saw how scared she was, how much she needed his help.

And that was all it took for him to let anger take control over him. To hell with dialogue, it wasn't working.

If he wasn't going to be able to be with her for the rest of their lives, them at least he wasn't going to permit that a jerk like that man ruined their last days together.

Without thinking it twice, he decided to give the man a little taste of what he could get.

A sudden and abrupt movement and the other man found Julian's fist buried in his face. And falling onto the ground from the hit, he released Anneliese. But before she could get away from him, the man jumped back to his feet and pushed her out of the way. Getting the girl out of his way to walk towards Julian, his teeth clenched and both of his fists prepared to hit anything not to mention his swelling red eye.

Julian didn't recoiled as the man walked towards him. And as fast as he got close enough he threw a punch in midair, Julian easily dodged it by bending his body to the opposite side of the blow.

The gray eyed man growled, he was losing. But he wasn't to give up so easily, so he kept attempting to land a punch on the other man.

But surprisingly, the tutor was dodging almost every hit coming from the other man. His eye was already getting very swollen, and that was a great advantage for Julian.

The blue eyed man rapidly gained too much confidence on himself and thought that he didn't had to strengthen himself. He was wrong, the other man finally landed a punch under his chin. Making him groan in pain and realize that if he didn't punch him back, he wasn't going to stop trying to hit him.

So both men, now with their heads in the game, began to fight.

Anneliese watched in horror how that nasty man was fighting with Julian, it made her want to intervene to stop them. But she knew that she could get hurt, or worse make Julian distracted and allow the other man to approach him. She couldn't interrupt. But, as she desperately started to look around her, she spotted something that changed her mind. Something that made possible for her to help Julian. A medium length wood plank lying on the floor, and slowly she grabbed it -trying not to make the man notice- and looked at him. She was amazed at how fast someone could feel so much hatred towards a person. She knew she could have done this before if he hadn't been holding her down. Anneliese started to walk towards them, the plank on her hands, and thinking about what he did to her earlier just made her eager to do this.

Julian was now panting as he clenched his teeth, both of his fists raised in front of his face to hit the man in front of him. He was already tired, it had been a very stressful day plus this man's adrenaline levels had gone so far up he was joggling in front of him. But Julian wasn't going to give up so easily, he was going to destroy this man for just touching the woman he loved. So he threw another punch, but the gray eyed man dodged. And taking advantage at the situation, he threw a hit at Julian. This time the tutor couldn't avoid losing his balance and he fell to the floor. Chuckling a bit at Julian's failure, feeling something hard that hit him in the back of his head and then abruptly replacing the smile he had with a dangerous frown - he turned back. And met the angry expression of the princess who was still holding her hitting position She had hit him with the plank in order to stop him but had failed her attempt. Then dropping the piece of wood, she recoiled from him, her back meeting the wall again.

Julian watching cautiously what the other man was about to do. He clenched his teeth at her, slowly starting to walk towards her. Anneliese gasped, how could it be possible for him to be up after a blow on the head?

The man smirked, after all he was going to get his price.

"You know, gorgeous." he cleaned the blood coming from his nostrils caused by a hit that Julian gave him with one of his cuffs "After all you put me through, I think I'm gonna have to break my promise-" he chuckled as Anneliese found herself in the same situation as before. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her close to him. She started to feel the tears in her eyes again. "You're coming with me-" he said, their faces inches apart. She shook her head, closing her eyes and starting to pray this was all a dream.

The man, on the other hand, was planning where he was going to take her. He had little time to think since the man that had come to help the girl could get up at any moment.

And again, someone interrupted them. He felt a finger poking his shoulder, and instinctively he looked back.

Those icy blue eyes again, a frown on the man's face and the last thing he remembered, the man's knuckles on his face.

Anneliese's first thought and action was to run to Julian's arms. He embraced her with all his strength, trying to assure her everything was going to be alright.

She clawed her fingers into his shirt as she muttered: "Thank you so much, Julian" He lowered his head, placing his cheek against the top of her head.

"No need to thank me, Anneliese"

"I was so scared" she pulled him closer, he started caressing the back of her head. And then he started to think; that man was a stranger so she had reasons to be scared of any of his actions. But what about the next week, she was getting married to _another _stranger! He knew she was going to feel the exact way when King Dominick… wished for her to do what a wife should. And he just couldn't bare the thought of that.

So, he pulled her away and grabbed her hands. "Anneliese," he started, she sniffed and looked at him. "I want you to know that you can count on me for anything you need. Even… Even when your new husband takes you away, you can contact me and I'll do whatever you want me to" Anneliese smiled, this really was the man of her dreams. She was getting married to another man and still Julian was offering his help to her.

But she wasn't stronger than that, she wouldn't allow King Dominick to separate Julian from her. Even when she had to tell a million lies, she was never going to be alone with King Dominick nor away from Julian.

She giggled as she wiped her eyes with her hands "And who says you are going to be away from me when I get married?" she asked him, then he smiled back.

She wrapped her arms around his neck to cuddle with him. He couldn't feel any happier.

They stood like that for a moment, something as simple as a hug was the most wonderful thing they could share to show the other how they felt without any words. Both blondes feeling so warm and protected in the other's arms.

Serafina, however, knew they soon had to go. And as much as she enjoyed watching her mistress happy she meowed to snap them back to reality.

And as they both broke the embrace, Julian scratched his neck as he cleared his throat. "Uh… You're highness, I think we should get going. It won't be long before we have to go back to the castle" the princess nodded as Julian started walking.

Anneliese ran so she could block his way, standing in front of him so he would stop walking. "Wait," she said. And in that instants, she wished she could just say it all and confess her feelings for him. Say that she loved him with all her heart… but she knew that if she said that she would be breaking his heart - if he felt the same way for her. She was promised to another man, so even if they both felt the same way for each other, they couldn't be together and Julian would be left even more heartbroken knowing that she did love him back.

So, the princess just stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the cheek. He was almost breathless as she did that, and even more when he felt how one of her thin and delicate hands grabbed his.

"Thank you for always being my hero, Julian" She smiled at him, he felt a bit more secure of himself as he twined his fingers with hers and noticed that she didn't pulled away.

"Nothing will ever hurt as long as I'm around, princess" She almost blushed when he said that, but before they started to walk away, she had to correct him.

"I'm Anneliese for you Julian, not 'princess' or 'your highness' - don't you ever forget it" he chuckled as he nodded.

She started to walk away from the alley, "Come on, Serafina" she called her pet.

Julian still not believing he was holding hands with the princess, not to mention he was never going to wash his cheek again.

As they started to walk out from there, a beautiful voice rang over the air.

"_Like a bird that flies in the morning light…_"

Anneliese and Julian looked at each other, smiling.

"_Or a butterfly in the spring_…"

They just knew they had to go there to listen to that beautiful performance - and no, it wasn't a date.

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><p><em><strong>Author's note:<strong>_

_Finally an update!_

_Sorry it took me so long, life happened and well I was kind of stuck at the fight scene - as you may notice I'm awful writing them lol._

_Anyways, hope this chapter is satisfying and it was also requested by Barbiegirl2435 :D_

_I was going to make their fluff scene a bit more romantic but I decided not to. I think of this chapter as a 'deleted scene' from the actual movie (XD) so if they kiss here, when Anneliese confesses her feelings for Julian in the mine… it just wouldn't be the same. Because it will the second time they kiss - they both think that the first time was just an experiment or just a Christmas tradition, so they are not sure of what the other feels yet - and they might as well just say they loved each other here than in the mine. The point is that I think that it would mess with the romance of the 'mine scene' ;) Because you don't know how badly I wanted them to kiss in this chapter!_

_Anyways, I think it still messes a bit with the movie since Julian goes with Anneliese to listen to Erika while she is singing. But I had to do it, after what happened I don't think he's going to leave her alone again._

_I also wanted to thank everyone who has supported this story :)_

_Please review! Really means a lot to know what you think :)!_


	7. Sweet Naïveness

Genesis

Chapter 7: Sweet Naïveness

_An update? Indeed! Sorry about the delay, life happened (especially school :P) and I haven't got time to write so much. But anyways, here it is – remember, don't try this at home ;)._

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><p>"But mother, I don't want a <em>party!<em>" The young blonde woman whined, her mother rolled her eyes at her - walking away.

"Oh, but darling!" she chuckled, "It _won't_ be a party, it will be a _ball_!" A huge grin crept onto Genevieve's face. This was a very important event in her daughter's life, perhaps the most important until then.

"Mom, you know I _don't_ like dancing." And even when she tried to use her most unenthusiastic attitude when she added that commentary, her mother's spirit didn't seemed to drop off - it stayed high and excited just like it had been that week.

Since the Queen noticed that her daughter's birthday was coming up, millions of ideas started to appear in her mind to make this party a _remarkable_ one. As always, only the finest of everything would be accepted for this event.

The Queen wanted this party to be a very special one, more special than the others one before. Other than her desire for Anneliese to have a good time, she had her **own** reasons - something that had been intriguing her, something that _worried_ her. Her beautiful daughter, a sweet princess, a talented young adult and she kept ignoring all of her suitors. Not to mention that Anneliese barely left the castle, she never seemed eager to look for a husband - just like every princess should do.

A young adult with no social life; not that she didn't trust her kingdom to her only daughter, it was just that she didn't wanted her to spend the rest of her life alone. And here was her closest chance to interfere in this situation…

So, she sighed as she walked closer to her daughter. "Anneliese, darling." Genevieve started. "This dance is _very_ important; the _wealthiest_ princes will be there." The princess couldn't help but to roll her eyes at her, '_Here she comes again with the wealth and fortune speech.'_ she thought. But her mother decided to ignore the eye-roll and continued. "Just imagine, all of them gathered in this ball destined to fight in order to win the heart of my _beautiful _daughter." She almost sounded as if she was reading one of her poetry books, but Anneliese knew she was really trying to convince her to accept doing this formal event – a thing that she saw as something unimportant and unnecessary.

Not to mention that her mother had gotten this obsession with wealth those last months, maybe there was something bad going on with their fortune… But she still couldn't understand why her mother had been putting so much pressure with the wealthy husband thing.

Anneliese had never thought of marrying a man just because of his fortune, she had always felt that she would marry someone when she fell in love. Taking her mother Genevieve for instance, she was a princess who married the family's royal cobbler – Derek. He wasn't rich, he wasn't even royalty and Genevieve still married him and her father didn't seem to be troubled by it. Why would she be acting this way?

What if she didn't love someone who was rich? Someone with a modest job, someone normal – someone who didn't need riches to catch her attention? Would her mother allow her to be with this _certain_ someone?

Those were questions that had been haunting her mind lately – Possibly because they were actually facts.

But, back to the matter at hand, Anneliese could already picture her mother in the event - forcing her to dance with every boy in the room. Calling their names out loud so they would come to where they were, she would have to spend the night hiding her face in shame. Also, there would be too many people around her at the same time; she hated to be surrounded by crowds and stares.

How was she supposed to look for a possible husband in that ball when she already loved somebody else? It wasn't very clear to him maybe, but she loved him very much.

She knew it was called love what she felt for him; of course, it started as a friendship, but then odd _feelings_ triggered in her heart and she knew that friends didn't felt those things for other friends. It was love, she knew it. Or just like it would say in some of those books she read, '_My heart only beats when he's by my side, my whole being melts when he looks at me and our time apart feels like knifes in my soul._'

But she couldn't tell him that; maybe she had misunderstood their relationship, took his affection as something more than it was. So, just like all of her feelings, she would swallow them to store them deep down her heart.

And the argument with her mother was not over yet, "There shall be no _fighting_ in the ball, mother." Anneliese continued, the queen laughed at her daughter's commentary.

"And with that sense of humor, I just know you'll have to do a _contest_ to choose one prince." The princess' jaw slightly fell; her own mother thought she was kidding!

So, to prove how stern she really was, she frowned and crossed her arms against her chest. Her mother stopped laughing and looked concernedly at her daughter. The Queen finally noticed how serious her daughter was, she wasn't eager to fulfill her wish. She didn't want to attend to such thing.

"_Darling_…" Genevieve started, thinking of something to say to convince her daughter. "This is a _crucial_ moment in a princess life…" she started as she placed her hand on Anneliese's shoulder, "It will let every prince know that you are ready to get married-" the princess' eyes bulged out, she instantly cut her off.

"Get married?" she repeated, "Mother, I know this is _very _important to _you_. But that's the **main **reason I _don't_ want to do it, I'm not ready to get married."

Genevieve gasped, "How can you _say_ that, my dear?"

Anneliese walked away from her mother, heading towards one of the windows of her oversized-room. Placing a hand on the window's apron, the princess sighed as she admired this breath-taking view once again.

The far away mountains, the amazing variety of plants and animals, their village… There was so much left for her to discover and her mother wanted her to get _married_?

"I wish to know everything about this…"Anneliese continued, "I want to know about _everything_ that surrounds me - to be a good ruler when it's my turn." Genevieve stood beside her, a confused expression splattered on her face.

"Anneliese, that's why you'll have to find a _good_ husband, so he can help you-" the young woman cut her off with a sigh.

The Queen looked at her daughter, at how her eyes sparkled when she looked out of the window, at how her head lowered when she talked about getting her a _wealthy_ husband. Something about marriage really _bothered_ Anneliese, her mother just knew it.

'_She wasn't like this_…' her mother could recall. Queen Genevieve still remembered when Anneliese was younger. She would talk about her wedding dress _everyday_, about the colors she was going to use in her wedding decorations, about how _handsome_ her groom would be and at how many kids she wanted to have.

Then, with just a _day_ before she could make _all_ those things come _true_! - And she was talking about _studying _and **not** getting married?

'_Something's very wrong with my daughter_…' she thought.

And indeed, there was something troubling her – but Genevieve couldn't figure it out yet. That sad expression that sometimes just appeared on her face and that out of the blue turned into a cheerful one… This wasn't about the ball, this was about another thing.

"Sweetie," called Genevieve, Anneliese looked at her. "Is something…" The woman paused, and not being able to find the correct expression to ask without raising any suspicions she just continued, "Is there something troubling you?"

"Well…" she started, Genevieve was her mother – Anneliese didn't felt surprised when she noticed odd things in her behavior, things that nobody else noticed. However, just like every mother – she could also scold at her, reprimand her for something she felt… something that was possibly wrong to feel. "There is something wrong…"

Genevieve nodded, "You know you can tell me anything, my dear."

"I know, but it's simple really – I just don't feel ready to get married." And saying that, Anneliese didn't know how to feel. She was lying, but she wasn't lying. She didn't want to marry a stranger, but she did felt ready to do it if a certain man agreed and felt the same way…

Genevieve decided to let go of the subject; Anneliese was young, she was just starting to live.

And with a defeat sight she said: "Alright, darling." And as she started to walk away, she continued. "I just need you to do something else."

Feeling almost relieved, Anneliese nodded. "Sure."

Her mother knew she'd probably say 'no' to her demand, so she opened the door of the room – and before she left she said: "You have until tomorrow morning to find an escort to the ball."

The princess gasped, _an escort? _

"And why do I need an escort, mother?" she questioned, her mother smiled.

"Darling, since your father is not here, you need a _man_ that can escort you throughout the ball." Why did her mother have to be so traditional with everything? "Maybe you can ask _Preminger_-"

"_No,no,no,no_." Anneliese **instantly** cut her off; she didn't know what her mother was about to say, but if it involved that creepy man – the answer was more than clear. "I'll find an escort _myself_, mother." she added.

'_**Preminger**__? What is my mother thinking about?' _Anneliese almost threw-up a little bit in her , her face lightened up, figuring out a way to avoid dancing with everyone."You mean I'll _only _dance with my escort-"

Genevieve shook her head, "No, no. I didn't say that, dear. You'll dance with everyone so you can make new friends - like you promised." _Promised? _She certainly didn't remember saying anything like that. "I'll see you at dinner, sweetheart." the queen closed the door behind her as she got out of her room.

She was very glad her daughter had agreed to make the ball - she had sent the invitations to their guests a week ago.

_God_! What was she going to do? It was going to be a horrible night!

She barely knew _how_ to dance; it was going to be so embarrassing. Besides, why couldn't she just sit around while everyone enjoyed the ball? She could watch - she didn't mind.

But her mother – ugh… Anneliese always was willing to please everyone around her, and her mother couldn't be the exception.

Now, she had to think about this escort…

'_Knock, knock, knock'_

"Come in."A small familiar masculine walked into the room, she already knew who it was.

"Preminger…" she really wasn't expecting to see him.

He grinned, "Your _highness,_" then, he walked closer and bowed, "Your mother has sent me to give you some gowns," he clapped twice and a maid with a mint-green dress entered the room. And just like he said, she was holding some dresses in her arms. "So you can choose the one you'll use tomorrow night." Tabitha placed them on the nearest chair she had found, and left the room. Then, she found herself alone with Preminger again. "_Milady_…" His chilling grin went somehow bigger as he approached her. "The queen informed me you need an _escort _to the ball," the amber-eyed man took the princess' hand, trying not to make him notice she took a small step backwards. "Consider _me_… the _best dancer_ of the kingdom." she raised an eyebrow but managed to force a smile on her face. "A wise choice, to be more precise." the man insisted.

She took her hand back, with the stiff and fake smile still on her face. "I am most certainly…_honored_ by your offer, Preminger. I-I'll think about it." Now, she was sure she was lying. She wasn't going to think about an answer that was way too obvious - **NO**.

"Very well, then." He bowed once again, releasing her hand. "I'll wait for your answer, your highness." And with that, he left.

He hated being nice to her, she always seemed almost annoyed by his presence. But he had to do it, when the gold from the royal mine was completely gone - he needed her to _marry _him. And he had to make the Queen think that her daughter actually liked being with him – even when he knew himself that wasn't true at all.

'_And then, __**I'll**__ be king! And that nitwit Anneliese will have to obey all __**my**__ rules_! _Muahahaha_!' he grinned to himself.

_Ugh! _How she hated when he tried to get in her life! _Creepy_ man…

'_Knock, knock, knock' _

"Come in," she said, praying that it wouldn't be someone that had to do something with this situation.

The door opened, steps got closer, boots to be exact.

"Julian," she smiled, suddenly her face lightened.

"Your majesty" he bowed. "Are you ready for your geography lessons?" he asked, _'How couldn't she be ready?'_

* * *

><p>The next day just… <em>flew<em> away.

She woke up literary praying that her mother wouldn't come asking if she had already picked her escort. Anneliese knew how impatient her mother could get.

She could imagine how her mother would react if she didn't… and how would she resolve the problem…_'Darling I gave you enough time to look for an escort, there's no time to look for one today so Preminger will do just fine.' _

The princess also imagined her own expression if that happened, she felt her throat being dry and her balance betraying her-

She had to find someone!

Well, not just _someone_. She already knew who she wanted to choose. All she needed was the courage to ask him. But, what if he said 'no'? She would feel so embarrassed! And disappointed…

Oh well, maybe it was just a phase; she will get over it - _eventually_.

She was really hoping she would, she couldn't help but to keep imagining him getting married with another woman while she stood there with her heart being shattered into pieces and not being able to do something about it.

She was passing through phase - she just had a really big and bad crush.

'_You are just passing through phase - you just have a really big and bad crush.' _he told himself as he stared at the door that separated him from her. It was getting harder to breathe already, and he was just outside her room. Somehow, something from deep inside him was whispering the opposite. This was not a crush; it was something else… something special.

Yet, what chance did a _teacher_ had against all of those rich princes?

None.

Besides, if he did have the chance sometime – what would people think of him?

_The tutor who __wooed the teenage princess to make his way to the crown. _Yeah, an excellent reputation.

Even when he knew that he didn't love her because of her economical status, he loved her because she had the most beautiful and warm smile, the most honest eyes, the most caring personality… well he loved everything about her -except her fortune-.

But, let's be honest, who would believe that?

'_Just breathe slowly, knock, and wish her a happy birthday.' _he told himself. Besides, the ball was only hours away - maybe she would find her future husband there and he would never get to see her again.

God…_Never see her again_… trying to make that phrase sound positive was completely impossible.

'_Knock, knock'_

"Come in." her sweet, delicate voice said.

His hand trembling as he entered the room, the princess was sitting in front of her dresser - Brushing her hair so when they came to help her get ready for the dance, they wouldn't find any tangles to deal with.

He took a deep breath, walking closer to where she was. "Your highness," he said, the girl looked back and smiled.

"Julian."

His heart skipped a beat as she stood up from the chair. "Happy Birthday,"

She grinned, wrapping her arms around him. Julian was a bit stunned at first, but in the end he gave in – hugging her back. The pounding of his heart in his head as he felt her head lying on his chest and the smell of roses that emanated her hair entered his nostrils.

Then, she broke the embrace, looking up to meet his eyes.

"Thank you." she replied

He almost chuckled, she was so beautiful. "You're welcome." he smiled; she walked towards the dresser again and took her hairbrush to resume her grooming.

"So," she started, "Are you ready for the ball?"

Julian moved his hands behind his back as he replied, "Well, yeah." He shrugged, muttering the real answer. "I think_…_" If it was for him, he really wouldn't go. He wasn't such a big fan of being around wealthy persons; not because they treated him badly or something like that, but because they reminded him of his place – just the tutor. But he knew that as a matter of fact Anneliese wouldn't forgive him if he wasn't there. "Are you?"

She sighed, placing the hairbrush on the table.

"_Well_… No." she shook her head; this was the time to ask him.

"Why?" he asked, she was about to respond but somebody started knocking at her door.

"Come in," she called. A petite familiar man accompanied by a black poodle strode into her room, carrying a white box with a pink bow that he rapidly handed to the princess.

"Happy Birthday, milady." he bowed. She stiffly smiled as she took the box and placed it on top of a table – just beside her hairbrush.

"Thank you," she paused, it was just so difficult talking politely to him. "-very, much, Preminger."

The amber eyed man raised and eyebrow, "Aren't you going to open it, your highness?"

Anneliese shook her head, "Not yet, Preminger. I'm not opening any of my gifts until the ball is over."

"_Ohh_, I see." That grin that had just appeared on his face was clearly forced, yet he continued. "Princess, would you mind if I ask you something?"

She stopped herself from rolling her eyes; she knew what he was going to ask. "Of course not,"

And without any hesitation, and ignoring the presence of the other young man in the room he continued. "Your highness, have you already made your choice about who will be your escort?"

She kept the fake smile on her face as she desperately thought of something that got her free from being with Preminger all night. She didn't know how to tell any of them without hurting their feelings – if Preminger had some feelings.

"Actually, Preminger, I already chose someone." Preminger smirked, he was very confident she was to say '_And yes, I would be honored if you escorted me to the ball._' What other choice did she have?

She knew her following action was going to be surprising for both men. She walked to Julian's side and suddenly she grabbed his arm, almost squeezing to hold it.

She slyly smiled at Preminger, "_Julian_ will be my escort to the ball."

Preminger's jaw almost touched his shoes, Julian's eyes bulged out and she heard him gulp.

Preminger's face was smeared with shock. "J-Julian?"

The blue eyed man was as shocked and surprised as him, "Your high-" Julian started, Anneliese smiled – pinching his arm to make him understand that he should 'go with her flow'. "Uh-Uhm…" he looked at Preminger, who was raising an eyebrow at both of them. "Yes. I-I already agreed to be the princess' escort." he nervously assured.

Preminger raised an eyebrow and pouted his lips in sign of dislike, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Very well, then. Have a nice evening, your highness." he walked away with his head raised; he slammed the door behind him.

Anneliese felt a huge weight lifted off her, but it seemed she had passed it on to Julian. He was shocked by her statement, but more at how happy she looked.

"Princess?" she looked back at him. "I'm not really going to be your escort, right?" Not that he didn't want to; just that it was a huge responsibility – one that an honorable man _should_ bear, because in royalty's eyes it had to be that way.

Anneliese released his arm, "Well, I was going to ask you but I -" she sighed, looking up to meet his eyes. "Uhm, Julian, would you be my escort?"

Julian didn't know if to smile or to be more serious. "Your highness I -"

She cut him off, a sad look on her face. "It's alright. I understand if you don't want to."

"No, it's not that." he quickly added, "It's just that," a smile appeared on his face. "It's such an honor."

She smiled at him, a sigh of relief and happiness escaped her lips. "Thanks, Julian."

* * *

><p>"Your highness, my name is James…"<p>

"_Prince_ Sheldon McGregor…"

"My father owns an entire country…"

"Kurt Olympus…"

"Ninny McBuffoon the first."

"_Anneliese_, pretty name…"

"Chinchilo Sthupod McChenge."

"Can I have this dance with the most beautiful girl in the room…"

"Robert Johnson Jon…"

"You are the prettiest lady in the room…"

"I can make you the _richest_ woman in the world…"

"Harry Harrison Harriet Haricot the fourteenth …."

"I hope _our_ kids will look after you…"

And just like that she spent her afternoon, and if she hadn't told her mother that she was tired of dancing with those snobby boys – she would have been spending her night hearing them talking about their fortunes.

After almost begging her mother, she was finally sitting in a corner of the gigantic room. Almost alone indeed, the person sitting by her side was more entertained flirting with the young princes.

She sighed; if Julian was there with her this wouldn't be so boring. He always knew how to amuse her with anything he said, but she had been enforced to be with Frances.

For some reason, after he '_escorted_' her, he disappeared in the crowd of people. It wasn't much what he had to do, just accompany her until the ball started – and sadly that started as fast as she walked downstairs with him.

* * *

><p>Now that his torture was finally over, he decided to spend the remaining time trying to forget about what was making his sad. Maybe eat something - that always made him forget his problems. So, spotting the refreshment table he walked towards it.<p>

A vast variety of snacks on top of that table; yeah, rich people knew how to throw good parties. Feeling uncertain of what he was going to pick, he started walking around the table to look for something he liked.

Cupcakes, yum – his stomach growled. Something he really would like to eat, and they were not so very far from where he was. Just right next to some strange men, not more than four, but judging by the way they were dressed Julian assumed that if they all united their fortunes it would be more than enough to feed a whole nation. They were all very plump, like if they had more than they really needed when it came to food, all four with glasses in their hands and all of them laughing at something.

He really wanted a cupcake, so even when he really would have liked to avoid approaching them he walked closer.

"-and that's when I said, '_Excuse me, but I believe this is my ex-wife!_'" said a black-haired man, his double chin growing in size when he laughed with his companions. Their cheeks were all very reddish, Julian didn't know if it was because of the booze they were drinking or because of their laugher. But anyways, he walked closer and carefully stretched his arm to grab a cupcake.

One of them noticed the young boy near them; they also noticed the sad look on his face. Being a bit inebriated already, he turned his body to talk directly to the young man.

"Son," he called, Julian felt a bit confused – why would this stranger call him? But still, out of courtesy, he looked at him. "What's with the long face?"

Oh, well. Somebody had finally noticed. He shrugged, "Eh, is nothing."

The black-haired man, "Why, I can't be anything!" He said, Julian looked at him and did nothing else. Then he elbowed the young man, "Unless you're one of those bipolar people!" And that made the other three men laugh hysterically. They looked like if they were nice people, a bit mocking but decent.

"Now, come on" said another brown-haired man, "You can tell us." He assured, taking a sip from his glass.

The blonde one at his side nodded, "Yeah, maybe we could help you." The red-headed man nodded too.

Julian felt like if he didn't had nothing to lose if he told them what was wrong, he wouldn't use names and it would be nice to heard what did all these middle-aged men had to say. A bit of wisdom never hurts. "Well," he started, "Since we are all men here, it's a girl." He sighed as he took a bite into the cupcake.

The four men nodded empathetically, they all sure knew what this man was going through. But the black-haired one was the one who reacted with more emotion.

"Ohh! Well today's your lucky day, lad!" he said, "Because you are speaking to the man with the most immense experience in that kind of situation." The other gentleman nodded again, smiling at the other. Julian stood the same; he really didn't know what they were talking about. The man raised an eyebrow at him, "Don't you know who I am?"

Julian was honest, "No…"

"Oh my _God_!" he exclaimed, "Then let me introduce myself, I am Charles Albert, duke of Luynes. Also known as '_The royal ladies' man'"_ And before he shook Julian's hand he added, "I've been married 36 times." But as a whisper of course, Julian was baffled but decided not to ask about that – he was probably lying.

"Indeed," added the blonde one, "He even stole one of my _wives_!" and he said that laughing, Julian tried not to frown. How there were men in this world that didn't valued their wives? Or dared to have more than one?

But, back to the matter at hand, the shook the Charles' hand. "It's an honor, I'm Julian Mills."

"Mills…" he placed a hand on his chin, "Sorry that I mention it, but that last name doesn't sound very common..."

Now, _that_ he was used to. "Around these kind of people?" he finished his sentence, guessing what Charles was about to say, "It's not;" Julian chuckled, "I'm just Princess Anneliese's tutor."

"Oh, I see." He said as he took yet another sip from his drink, "Yet, I could have sworn that you came from a patrician family Mr. Mills; you could easily be mistaken for one of these snobby boys."

Julian chuckled, "Thank you, sir."

And drinking all the red liquid that was left in his glass in one chug, he continued. "I mean it kid, just look at yourself. You're sure of who you are, very educated and well mannered, a good-looking fellow. How can a single girl cause such problem?" Julian felt utterly flattered by what this high-class man had just said, and before he could even thank him Charles continued. "Trust me, I bet any girl in this room would be thrilled if you approached her."

Julian shook his head, "Well, thanks again, your honor. But that's the problem; she's not just any girl." And with that last statement, Julian's appetite disappeared – the cupcake didn't look so appetizing anymore.

The duke raised an eyebrow, "Hmh… Perhaps, the only thing you need to get this girl is a bit of confidence." When the blackhead said that he clapped twice, a man dressed in black instantly walked in – holding a tray with some glasses and a reddish colored bottle. Charles took the bottle and placed a couple of glasses on the table at his side. And after removing the cork, he poured some of the liquid into the glass. Finally, taking the glass container in his hand he said: "And you are beholding the finest confidence booster." He chuckled, and then looked the boy who was still standing beside him with the empty tray, "You can leave already, I'm not drinking the tray." And as the man walked away, Charles offered the glass to the blonde young man in front of him.

Julian shook his head, taking a step back away from him. "Oh, no. I don't drink."

The duke almost put a begging expression on his face, "Come on laddie, for her."

"Go ahead!" added the redheaded man.

The black-haired one nodded, "You'll get to see if she really likes or not, by just being yourself – in a more slacken and self-assured behavior."

"Then what?" Questioned the young man, "I vomit in front of her?"

Charles chuckled, "No, no, don't say that!" he walked closer to Julian, "You see, that's when you lose your sophistication. Just because you had a couple of glasses doesn't mean that you'll wind up making a fool out of yourself." Julian looked at him, Charles' face was as red as a lobster and he was laughing at every little thing. He just wasn't the best person to say that you wouldn't wind up looking stupid. "With the right measure, you will just _win_ confidence – along with some temporary dizziness and a bit of speech impediments. The thing is that you will feel brave enough to tell this girl how you feel."

Julian eyed the man, what he had just said convinced him. He would only have a glass; just one, what could possible happen? And not necessarily tell Anneliese how he felt, just have good time with her without feeling uncomfortable. He looked at the bottle, it didn't even have a label – if he was going to drink it he wanted to know what it was.

"Is this wine?" asked the blue eyed man; Charles snickered as he shook his head.

"My boy, if it was wine the bottle would have a name printed on - This is known as punch." He pointed at the glass filled with the red substance. He could see that there was still some doubt in Julian's eyes. He wanted to help him, he was once young and shy – he knew what it was like. "Don't worry, it's sweet. You'll like it."

With that, Julian took the glass from Charles' grasp. And without thinking it, he took a swig. The punch went hot and scratchy down his throat – which made him close his eyes, that didn't feel good at all, but once it was settled in his stomach it felt warm and comforting. His face grew hot; he pulled at his collar trying to cool down.

Julian opened his eyes and saw Charles squinting at him with curious eyes, waiting for his verdict. "Well?" he asked.

He paused and nodded, chest glowing warmer and warmer by the minute. "I think I can pull this off." The other three men cheered as Charles reached for the bottle – a huge grin splattered on his face.

* * *

><p>"Oh, come on!" Frances whined, looking at her cousin. "This is your birthday party and you're just sitting there like an old rag doll."<p>

Anneliese rolled her eyes at her, "Why don't **you** go and have fun?" Frances frowned, "You don't have to be next to me all night."

"I know," she said as she crossed her arms on top of her chest. "But I know that if I leave you will stay here and do nothing!" Anneliese shrugged, "Just look at all the boys around you, just go and talk to them!"

The princess sighed, "Frances," she started, "I don't want to talk to any of those strangers. I already danced with a few and it was stressing, I can't imagine how it would be talking with them."

"Anneliese!" the green-eyed complained, standing up from the chair she was sitting on. "Don't be such a party pooper!" She walked towards Anneliese, grabbing her hands to force her to stand up. "Get up, you'll come with me and we're going to have fun!" She stated as she tried to pull up the other woman. But the princess shook her cousin's hands off, and frowning she shook her head again.

"No." she stated, crossing her arms across her chest. She just couldn't understand that she didn't felt comfortable being there.

Frances sighed, running a hand through her dirty-blonde hair as she looked around the room. And as she spotted the possible answer to this problem, she smirked. Looking at Anneliese she said: "Fine," then took another glimpse at the table on the other side of the room, and starting to walk away from her she finished with an: "Wait here…"

* * *

><p>"I propose a toast!" shouted Charles, with a little too loud tone of voice. The four men around him nodded as they raised their glasses. "For friends, folks, love," And trying to sound louder so people could hear him, he raised his tone even more. "<strong>and for the beautiful princess that is turning<strong>…uh…" Oh, God… how old was she? He couldn't even remember! Oh, well… "– **a year older!**"

Several persons that had heard Charles shouting joined him, "Cheers!" they all said.

After drinking his glass, Charles looked down at Julian. He looked kind of lost, and his glass was only half-full. "Oh, your glass is almost empty." He commented, the pointed at the near table. "Go get a fresh one, son."

Julian blinked down at his glass and felt himself go cross-eyed. He didn't know that was a rule. But, he hadn't had a lot of experience with toasts. Wait… hadn't they done the toast already? But, Charles sounded like he knew what he was talking about - he was probably right. "Okay," he agreed.

He reached for the ladle and then stopped . . . Looking at both of his hands he wondered: was he left or right-handed? Because he suddenly couldn't remember. Which of his two hands usually worked better than the other? The one he used to do everything like write, grab things, turn doorknobs and serve himself some punch? As much as he wanted to concentrate to get the answer, his mind was just blank.

God, what was happening to him? He only drank a couple of glasses, he had to admit that he didn't turned down any of them when Charles offered them to him – even when every glass he brought had a different colored liquid – but he just had never experienced this before.

* * *

><p>Still sitting in the same place, trying to blend in - to literary <em>hide<em>. Anneliese couldn't be more bored, there was no one she knew around her.

A familiar voice suddenly spoke, "Drink this," it said. The blonde woman looked to her side, it was Frances again. But this time she was holding a glass with a red substance in it, and she was offering it to her. Anneliese knew the smell very well; she had never tried it though, she didn't even knew that it was.

So she raised an eyebrow at her cousin, "I am not drinking that, thank you."

Frances rolled her eyes; "Come on!" she whined, "You'll like it." Then, the princess noticed that she was actually holding two glasses, and that she had just taken a huge gulp form the other one she was holding. Frances was insane, she knew that, but she knew that she wouldn't harm her with anything. If her cousin was drinking the same thing she was offering to her, it couldn't be so bad.

"What is it?" she asked.

Frances grinned, "It's wine, silly. It's not something _that _awful."

Anneliese crossed her arms on top of her chest, "I don't drink."

Frances sat on a chair next to her, "You're an adult already." She added, trying to convince her.

"So?" she shrugged,

Frances chuckled, Anneliese could get so obstinate if she wanted to. And even when she wasn't really trying to force her to drink it, she was just trying to make her have fun. It was her birthday and she was sitting in a corner of the room while everybody - except for her - had a wonderful time. "You deserve to have some fun, right?"

"I guess," She replied, "But not _that_ kind of _fun,_ thank you very much."

Now she knew what Anneliese was thinking, she was probably thinking that she was going to make a fool out of herself just because she drank some wine. "This will only help to relax, nothing else." She insisted, Anneliese looked at her.

If she drank just a little bit, maybe she would be brave enough to go look for Julian and spend the night with the person she wanted – without feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable.

So, after she sighed, she nodded. "Alright." Frances giggled with excitement as she handed her the glass.

It went almost hot down her throat, settling warmly on her stomach – she suddenly started to feel her temperature rise. Like if she was beside a huge bowl of hot soup on a steamy day. Her face grew damp; she felt her cheeks getting hotter. It wasn't sweet, sour either but perhaps bitter – taking the second chug, she noticed it wasn't so bad after all. It tasted almost like grape juice, just that it burned its way through your digestive track and it left a pungent aftertaste in her mouth. She looked at Frances, who was looking back her with an almost proud expression. Anneliese nodded, taking another chug of wine. This time it didn't burnt her throat, it went down smoothly and warm – and it somehow tasted even better than before.

Her mouth felt oddly hot, and taking a look at the glass she was shocked to see if was empty.

"Wait here," Frances stood up and took her empty glass, leaving again.

* * *

><p>Julian shook his head, trying to fling away the fuzzy feeling in his body. He was right-handed, now he remembered! How was it possible for him to forget such thing, he had been using his right hand to do everything all of his life!<p>

So he finally grabbed the ladle and… wait! That was weird. He was holding the ladle - he could feel its cold metal against his skin - but it looked like his hand was going straight _through_ it!

Oh God! And if this was real, he must be so intoxicated that he couldn't even feel the pain it was supposed to be causing. How stupid of him, now how was he going to get some help? Calling someone and saying: '_Help me! The punch ladder's handle is in the middle of my hand and I don't even know why or how!_' Now, that would sound stupid, people would question his ability - they would probably wonder how the heck he got to be the princess' tutor. But, wait a minute… there wasn't any blood, and how could the ladle be piercing his hand when he had just been holding it?

Trying not to freak out, Julian spent – what he thought was - a whole minute blinking, and brought his left hand up to his eyes. He scrubbed at each of them with his fist until his eyelids hurt to make sure his vision had cleared. When he opened them again, thankfully what he saw made perfect sense: his unharmed right hand, with his fingers wrapped tightly around the ladle.

Julian tittered to himself, '_That was a bit stupid_.' He mentally commented. It was just too senseless, so he worried – why would his brain create such scene?

Finally, he scooped punch into the ladle, dumped the ladle into his glass and then his fingers slipped and the ladle fell into the punch bowl, splashing him and soaking in a splotch on his shirt.

Just what he needed, feel embarrassed in such an important event. He wanted to ignore this so bad, but the punch had stained his upper garment – the huge spot felt cold against his abdomen. He couldn't return with all those fancy gentlemen looking like this, they had flattered him saying that he could pass as a noble and rich man – he wasn't going to prove them wrong with this. Besides, he felt warm and content and a little bit sleepy – something like this wasn't to end the party. He could just go outside where the dark of the night would make impossible for someone to see the stain, and then when he felt tired enough just go home.

* * *

><p>Everyone clapped, cheering and smiling at her.<p>

"Happy Birthday!" they all shouted - a huge white splotch blocking one of the sides of her sight – very huge and tall. It had been there since they started singing, and she had tried everything to make it go away. Rub her eyes, blink and even when she moved the giant spot just traded places – it never left her vision clear.

And even though, Anneliese's sight was way too blurry to recognize the people in front of her – she smiled at everyone.

Then she wondered, was there a cloud in front of her? Maybe a slice of the moon, because when you looked at the moon and you walked around it followed you – the same way this weird spot did.

A servant walked to her side; it was Tabitha, the red-headed woman who brought her breakfast every morning. Anneliese rapidly identified her even when she couldn't see her face very clearly; she was the only one with that intense hair red – red intense hair? Hair red intense? Red hair intense? Bah! Her mind was felt too lazy to even put into order that last phrase.

Looking at Tabitha the princess saw a gleam that came from the maid's hand – another servant walking closer to her. When she noticed that what had gleamed in Tabitha's hand was nothing more than a knife, she recoiled.

Gasping, she felt trapped – her maid was going to murder her? Why would she do that? She had never been mean to her. "Tabitha-" she breathed, it felt suddenly hard for her to speak. The lump on her throat was making it almost impossible. "You don't have to do this…"

The maid looked at her, a puzzled expression on her face. "Oh, I'm sorry – if you want to cut your birthday cake yourself then," she carefully handed her the knife, Anneliese frowned. "Here you go." She smiled.

"You're not trying to kill me?" whispered the princess, Tabitha gasped.

And as she took back the knife she replied, "Oh my! Your highness, I would never do that!"

Anneliese felt confused – was she trying to kill her or not? Walking towards her with a knife at hand and saying that she was not trying to stab her with it didn't made much sense, or it did?

The other maid that walked where they were was holding some plates. Tabitha decided to ignore the princess and proceeded to serve the cake.

Once again, Anneliese felt utterly stupid. The thing that she had been identifying as a white splotch in her sight was actually her own birthday cake. Her vision was starting to be very defective – maybe she would have to call the royal doctor to see if she needed spectacles just like her mother. Oh! Or maybe it was a magical cake! Or it could also be a cursed cake! What if everyone died from food poisoning?

Anneliese felt light-headed, like if her head was made of air – that sounded so irrational, she knew it was impossible that a part from a person's body could be made out of air. Unless it was invisible, and nobody had ever noticed it existed… people breathe air, so maybe their lungs were made out of air.

"Anneliese?" She recognized the voice, and found herself struggling a bit to make her eyes find the woman. When she did, she squinted her eyes – then stared at her with wide eyes. When she found her mother's figure in front of her she also noticed that there were other women standing by her side. They looked exactly like Genevieve, and they even had the same clothing too! Was her mother a triplet? Why she had never mentioned that? Maybe she could inherit that special ability – instead of having just one baby, she could have three babies at the same time! That would be wonderful… and painful. "Anneliese, are you okay?" her mother and her exact siblings said at the same time… that was odd, did they shared their thoughts too?

But, when the Queen walked closer to Anneliese her triplets faded – leaving Genevieve alone. The princess blinked several times, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Yes…" she replied, still looking confused at her mother. The older woman walked closer to her, she fixed her spectacles to eye her daughter with more meticulousness. "Mother, are you a triplet?"

The Queen raised an eyebrow, what was her daughter talking about? So, she decided to chuckle at her daughter's question. "No, my dear. You know I am not, why would you ask such thing?"

The young woman shrugged, "I just saw two women that looked exactly like you standing by your cide." Uh, that last word sounded funny, 'cide'… by her mother's cide? Cight? sith? Side? Oh! That was the right one, side – by her mother's side. Genevieve was the one to squint her little eyes at her now, walking closer. And after fixing again her spectacles, she sniffed.

She softly gasped, frowning at Anneliese. "Have you been drinking?" she hissed, taking her daughter's arms.

Anneliese raised an eyebrow. "Well," she started, smirking to herself, "If I don't drink anything I could die of dehydration." She giggled, feeling even more light-headed.

Genevieve frowned harder as she pulled her daughter to a more private corner in the room – even when it would be hard for anyone to notice what was happening, the people were too distracted.

"Tell me exactly what were you doing?" The Queen claimed, releasing Anneliese's arm.

The young woman struggled, "I was with Frances-"

Genevieve sighed, cutting her daughter off as she rubbed her temples. "_I should have known_." She muttered.

"We were just having some fun-" the princess tried to explain herself, but her mother saw this as if it was the end of the world – she really didn't wanted to hear any explanations. She closed her eyes, trying to think about something. Her daughter was never in agreement with this ball, and at least now she seemed to be having fun. But still, Anneliese was the next ruler of this kingdom; if someone noticed that she was literary drunk at her birthday party both of their reputations would be ruined. She had to get out of here, at least until she was able to act normally again – get some fresh air or something.

"Alright, Anneliese." She started, taking a really deep breath as she opened her eyes again. But the princess wasn't there anymore; she must have wandered off when she was thinking about what to do with her.

So the Queen hurried into the crowd to find her.

Anneliese felt herself glow even brighter, her head flying higher as it took more effort to keep her eyes open. She drained her glass in five big chugs – she knew that it wasn't proper for a lady of her class to drink like that, but who cared? It was her birthday, and she felt uncomfortable in the beginning and after she lost the count of how many glasses she had drank – she never felt better. Besides, it had a very good taste. It was almost as if her own body was making her drink it in that way. That punch must have been an acquired taste, because this glass tasted a lot better than the last one.

"Hey, hey…" she knew that voice; it was Frances – with a glass of wine in her hand as well. "I see you have got the hang of it." She smirked, Anneliese laughed hysterically at her commentary.

"Yeah!" she replied, Frances looked at her as if she was crazy. But Anneliese had laughed that way because she hadn't been able to hear what her cousin had just said – she really hadn't been listening to her.

And when Frances was about to say something else, Genevieve stormed in and grabbed her daughter's arm again. But before they were far enough from each other, her cousin handed her another glass.

* * *

><p>Julian licked some of the punch off his lips and savored the taste. It was sweet and juicy, like any fruit juice but – better - a <strong>lot<strong> better.

Looking up to find the moon staring back at him, he wondered: _'Why is the moon so lonely?'_ He had always wondered about that, there were the stars but they weren't fitting to make her some company. Too small, too ordinary. Unlike her, she had different phases but they only happened at some point. The moon was unique and different from the other things in the sky – there were billions and billions of stars in the dark, sometimes even clouds but there was only one moon.

And just like the moon, the sun was lonely too. He was unique just like her, clouds and birds filled the blue sky during the day – but there was only one sun. If they were both so lonely and unique, perfect for each other, why couldn't they be together?

He placed the empty glass on a corner of the bench, standing up he started to walk around the gazebo. He had always liked this place, it was private and calm – gave him the peace to think without any interruptions. Finding himself captured by the moon again, he remembered that there was a time when the moon and the sun did met. It was short, fast and alarming – they called it an eclipse.

Maybe they weren't so lonely after all; at least they got the change to be together – even when it was for a short time. If only he got the chance to have an eclipse with whom he saw as impossible to be with… wait, was the even possible?

Julian whipped his head around eagerly, trying to erase that thought. He couldn't, it was just too… absurd. A princess and her tutor – together? He had followed Charles advice, _awful advice_, and he still felt a lump in his throat when he thought about her. It didn't work – there was no way that he told everything he felt for her.

Then, the whole place blurred - it seemed to tilt dizzily away from him. For a dreadful second, he was sure he was going to fall on his face. He stuck his arms out behind him and grabbed the railing - his fingers caught the edge of it, and he curled them around it and squeezed as hard as he could. Panting, he tried to keep his head still so that - whatever it had been - wouldn't happen again. This was horrible! It was as horrific as they described it in the books he had read – his head was starting to ache and his stomach churned.

He knew what could possibly come after this state, and it wouldn't be pretty.

He just wished – Wait! Did the railing just moved? Oh, Wait –

Nah, it was probably his own mind. But that crashing noise he just heard couldn't be imaginary.

Straightening up and running a hand through his hair he started to look around the place, the only thing helping was the moonlight. So it was almost hard to concentrate to find the source of the noise.

"_Damn_," someone muttered, and that's when he looked back and found a young woman scratching her head as he looked at something on the ground.

He couldn't identify who it was yet, but she certainly needed help – or did she? Alright, so he just wanted to see who she was.

Julian walked towards her, struggling to keep his legs working correctly - They were all jittery and nervous, and the floor wouldn't stay still either! But, somehow, he managed to walk to where she was standing.

His vision was way too blurry to recognize her, but he could see that she was wearing a beautiful pink dress. He also noticed her blonde mane. Her curly hair trailed along her shoulders and down her back, her way too familiar blonde hair.

She noticed the man standing by her side, looking up and squinting her eyes to identify him. "Julian?" the woman said, and that's when he realized why her hair looked familiar.

"Anneliese?" he said, his hands started to shake. She was there alone with him. "Uh, aren't you supposed to be inside the castle?" he asked.

"I am?" she replied, a confused look on her face. She hadn't really listened to what he had said, well, she couldn't understand. Her mind was just too exhausted to think or to make her ears listen properly. Wait, was her mind the one responsible to make her ears listen? Or was it her brain? Weren't they the same thing? "I mean," she added, trying to think about the answer to his question. "I am?" she repeated, oh! She remembered. "Wait… mother told me to c-come here – to get shome air fresh…" she answered, proud of being able to answer his question.

Julian nodded, and then raised an eyebrow at her. "Air fresh?"

"Uh?" she asked, realizing her mistake. "Fresh air!" she exclaimed. "Sorry – I, well…" she sighed, "It's kind of Frances fault."

"What are you blaming her for?" he asked

Anneliese chuckled, and started to count with her fingers as she spoke. "That I am feeling dizzy terribly," he looked at her, maybe he wasn't the only one in this situation. "That I dropped my glass over there, that for some reason I can't stop m-misplacing words when I speak," she sighed, continuing, "That my tongue feels too big and-and heavy-" he cut her off, now those were things he could relate to.

"That you can't barely see the faces of the people in front of you, that your eyes seem to d-disobey your orders and they canh't seem to stay still when you're trying to-to concentrate-"

"That my s-stomach hurts, that my head throbs, that my eyelids feel heavy and-"

In unison, the both finished. "-The world spins around-"

And not being able to hold it any longer, they laughed. Not really knowing why but just laughing, both of them just felt hysterically happy – and laughing felt like the right thing to do at the moment.

Their eyes met, looking sweetly at each other. He knew he was staring at her, but she didn't seem to mind – besides, she was looking at him too and it would be very impolite to look away. Maybe Charles was right, that punch really made him feel less nervous around her. And maybe Frances had been right too, she was feeling more than relaxed.

Anneliese giggled, and started to walk closer to him. Julian didn't noticed, he was too lost in her blue eyes. She smiled, playing with a strand of her hair. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt like looking up to the sky. She followed him suit.

And just as if he had known, a small and far line flickered in the dark sky. Fast and almost unnoticeable, a shooting star. She smiled, still looking up. Julian felt so bewitch by her beauty, it was just inevitable looking at her and feeling charmed by her. Next thing he knew, she had tripped and was holding her in his arms. Her hands on his chest, his hands around her waist. Way too close. Way too fast.

She could feel his breath on her lips, and still feeling a bit stupid for tripping - she was glad she had done that. Not having an excuse, and without any hesitation, she started to close the distance between them. Julian closed his eyes, then realizing their current situation – he cleared his throat. Releasing her.

Anneliese swallowed hard, that was embarrassing. She could feel her cheeks burning, but she didn't felt so… uncomfortable.

Julian didn't know why he had done that, it was the point of this whole charade – having the guts to tell her how he felt. But, he just couldn't do it there. Anyone could see them, they could misunderstand the situation. So, he decided to change the subject. "Uh, I have something for you."

Anneliese smiled, "You don't have to get me anything-"

Julian laughed; "Of courhse I do!" He ventured and took her hand, pausing to just enjoy the moment and gently pulling her to go to where he had hidden her birthday gift. Then he cleared his throat, "Y-you'll like it, I-I know it."

"No, no." she shook her head, "Really, juhst having you here is enough-"

"Come on!" he insisted, "You're not going to turn down my gift, are you?

"Well…"

He chuckled as he started walking, pulling her along.

* * *

><p>Frances grinned as she closed the curtains of the window. She hadn't planned this, but it sure came out well. They were probably heading to speak in a more private place, maybe Anneliese's room.<p>

"Frances, my dear." Genevieve said, walking closer to the girl.

"Yes." She replied, standing in front of the window.

"Have you seen Anneliese?"

The green-eyed woman gulped; if the Queen went to look for her daughter everything would be ruined. She shook her head, "No, I haven't. But I'm sure she must be in her room, probably sleeping."

"My, you must be right. I should go check on her."

"No!" Frances cried, then she tittered, "Auntie," she calmly started, "Could you stay with me for a few minutes, I would like you ask you some questions."

The blonde woman raised an eyebrow, "Uhm… Sure, sweetie. What would you like to know?"

"Well… uh… I would love to know, uh, what you do to… uh; make your hair look so _shinny_?" She nervously smiled as Genevieve suspiciously eyed her.

"Dear, why don't you ask your mother about those things? She is the proper person to answer you. Besides, that's a stupid question."

"No, no. But, I want you to tell me."

* * *

><p>Slowly, they arrived to her room. Even when they didn't say anything, they were both using the other for support and guidance – extremely dizzy; he even had some trouble turning the doorknob.<p>

"So," Anneliese started, looking at Julian. "You hid the gift in m-my room."

He shrugged, releasing her hand and closing the door behind him. "Kind of, I couldn't hide it for such long time, besides you would have never guess it was here."

She chuckled, "You're right."

Julian brought her a large pink box; she immediately noticed the several holes it had. Or was she seeing the holes and they weren't really there?

Then, when he handed it to her she nervously took it. She looked at him, he smiled, and she touched one of the holes to prove their existence.

Anneliese looked at him, "Why does it have holes?"

He chuckled, "It needs to breathe."

Giggling, she wondered what it could be… Julian was a great listener, so she was sure that whatever it was it was probably of her liking. Not having any idea of why this box needed the holes, she then proceeded to open the box – she gasped when she saw a tiny ball of white fur cuddled in a corner of it. And just when the creature felt the fresh air and the light the candles in her room emanated, it looked up.

Anneliese's heart almost stopped when she saw that pair of gigantic green eyes looking up at her, not to mention that when it meowed she wanted to explode from happiness.

"Julian…" she breathed, looking up at him. "You really didnh't have to do this…"

The blue-eyed man chuckled again, "Do you like it?"

She nodded, grabbing the fur ball in one of her hands and placing the box on the floor. "Of course I-I do," she pressed the baby cat against her cheek, feeling how it purred. Placing it inside the box again, she walked closer to him. "I love it," she smiled, standing on her tiptoes to reach his face and land a peck on his cheek.

His face grew hot, and he knew he was probably as red as lobster. She smiled, at him. "Thank you." She gave yet another peck, and this time she ventured and landed the next one on his lips. Both of their eyes bulged out, she pushed away – not sure of what she had done. He was stunned and his chest rapidly got filled with happiness. "I'm sorry," she said, he looked at her and noticed that her cheeks were as red as his probably were.

Julian placed his hands on her shoulders, gently pulling her towards him. "Don't be." He leaned and closed the distance between them, their lips meeting once again. This time, he wasn't sure _how_ he had done that and _she_ was the one stunned. But as he started to move his lips against hers, she felt the urge to do the same – the tension she felt disappeared. Anneliese nervously placed her arms around his neck; he placed his around her waist – pulling the other closer.

As the trust grew between them, their tongues finally met – both blondes could taste the alcohol in the other's mouth. But that didn't interrupt them from kissing the other, but the lack of oxygen in their bodies did.

As he panted, she breathed his name: "Julian…" He was inches away from kissing her again but he paused. Hearing his name was like a wake up call. He stepped away from her, releasing her from his hold. She made a noise of protest and looked at him.

And even in the state he was, inebriated, he knew that this was **way** wrong. She was the princess, and he was her teacher – this was wrong. He forced a smile; she wasn't able to return it.

"This is -" he started.

"I know," She cut him off, he frowned – but it wasn't an angry scowl, it was more of a disappointed one.

They both knew it was wrong.

Then, she managed to smile – it was alright, and she understood how he felt. So she walked closer to him, placed a hand on his cheek and said: "Thanks, Julian."

He nodded, "You're welcome." Anneliese walked towards the box, taking the little cat in her hands again. She yawned as she looked at the kitten.

"I must be going, your highness."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

_I know, I know. Not a very good end, but I really couldn't think about anything else. :/ Sorry, if you find any mistake in the grammar ;)_

_Anyways, I just wanted to add that I decided to 'jump' the part where Julian escorts Anneliese to the ball. Trust me, it was going to be boring since the only thing I think they would have done was walk downstairs together so her mother would introduce her to the guests – That was all._

_And yes, they were supposed to be drunk… don't try this at home. I don't know if I did a good job reflecting that in the chapter, is my first time writing for characters in this situation ;)_

_So, I just wanted to thank everyone that had reviewed – REALLY means a LOT, so thank you guys! :D Keep reading and reviewing my stories! You have no idea how much that encourages me to write more!_


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